Faces of the Diversion: Ken Helvey

Ken Helvey: [00:00:14] Hi, my name is Ken Helvey. I’m with SRF Consulting Group. I’m one of the land agents assigned to the project. My role as a land agent is to negotiate with the property owners to acquire the rights that are needed for the project. We meet with the owners, we present them with the appraisals, and we discuss values and we try to reach a conclusion so that all parties are satisfied.

[00:00:37] I have been acquiring land rights for public projects since 1992. I’ve been working on the diversion project for 13 years.

[00:00:46] The Rural Impact Mitigation Program, which we call the RIMP program, is a program that we developed outside of the acquisition of the property and the other relocation benefits that farmers, homeowners, and other businesses are entitled to, to assist specifically farmers in reestablishing their farmsteads at a new location.

[00:01:11] The RIMP program is a forgivable loan program where property owners are paid a supplemental amount of money in addition to what they’re paid for their property and what they receive in normal relocation benefits. This, like I said, is a forgivable loan where they are provided with cash in order to reestablish their farmsteads: build new buildings, build grain bins, bring power to the site, and other items necessary to redevelop a farmstead site.

[00:01:39] The RIMP program is a unique program. It is not something that’s required by the statutes. There isn’t anything like this that exists in North Dakota or Minnesota. It is loosely based on a program that was used for a project in St. Cloud, Minnesota, so we have adapted the program to make it applicable to farms and rural businesses. The farmers have utilized the funding to build outbuildings, to bring utilities to their property, to build up their properties out of the floodplain, and the rural businesses used it to reestablish their business in the community.

[00:02:14] On a public project like this, there’s a number of challenges that are faced by the land agents. One of those challenges is in meeting with the property owners, helping them to understand the needs of the project and helping them to understand the goals of the project and what needs to be done to accomplish that project. A second challenge is working with the property owners in order to determine fair market value for their property and what they should be paid.

[00:02:37] But there are also a lot of rewards with this project. When we can work with somebody, reach a successful resolution on their acquisition, and then have them move to a new location—if it’s somebody that has to move—and get their farm or their home or their rural business back operating and have it be a success at that new location, that’s really one of the biggest rewards.