Bulldozer premature in clearing land near Piedmont school site

Scott Kuiti was on the road Wednesday morning in Eveleth when he learned by phone that a bulldozer was rumbling across his property and taking out trees. He was none too pleased.

Although the Duluth school district had expressed an interest in buying a small piece of land from Kuiti and had told him it wanted to negotiate a temporary easement to facilitate construction of a new Piedmont Elementary School, he said: "We had nothing even close to an agreement in place."

The financial terms of a prospective deal had not even been discussed, Kuiti said as he recalled a May 18 meeting with Kerry Leider, facilities manager for the school district.

"The price just went up," said an irate Kuiti as he surveyed the damage to his property Wednesday afternoon.

Leider acknowledged the bulldozing activities Wednesday morning were premature and resulted from a miscommunication as workers began to erect a construction fence.

"It's unfortunate that there was a misunderstanding with a contractor and that this impact occurred before we could finalize an agreement," he said. "Mr. Kuiti was a willing participant in negotiating an agreement. We just hadn't finalized the terms yet."

"It's so typical of the school district to put the cart before the horse," Kuiti said. "This is inexcusable. No excuse will cut it on this one."

Kuiti called the Duluth Police Department after learning of the bulldozer on his property, and an officer put a stop to the work, but not before the machine had cut a swath through the wooded rear of Kuiti's lot. The land is located behind the Piedmont Plaza building, which Kuiti also owns.

Kuiti said the police officer examined the bulldozer operator's construction documents, and they did not appear to indicate that access still was being negotiated.

The school district sought to buy less than 1,000 square feet of property from Kuiti but wanted about 5,000 square feet total for a construction easement, he said.

Tracy Lundeen, who has an office in the Piedmont Plaza building and is a friend of Kuiti, encountered the bulldozer when he arrived for work shortly before 8 a.m.

"I told the guy that he was on private property. But he said he was just doing his job, and he'd been told to bulldoze this line," said Lundeen, who proceeded to notify Kuiti of the morning's developments.

Kuiti said he would like to see the school district cited for criminal trespass and causing criminal damage to property.

But he said he's still ready to discuss a potential deal with the district when he simmers down a bit.