GENESEE COUNTY/Landowner takes back one lane of road at the entrance of Godfrey’s Pond

After negotiations broke down between a landowner and the Board of Directors at Godfrey’s Pond over a strip of land that contains half of the main entrance/exit roadway, the landowner on Saturday blocked all access to the exit lane at the private conservation club by placing cut down trees and stumps in the roadway.

According to a Genesee County Sheriff’s Call for Service Report, Deputy Jenna Ferrando responded to the entry/exit road on Griswold road in Stafford early Saturday afternoon after calls to the Genesee County Dispatch center were received that the entry/exit road was down to one lane, and causing a public safety risk as a large amount of residents and visitors were at the club this weekend for the July 4th festivities.

According to the Call for Service report, the landowner inherited the property from her family and was upset with an ongoing issue of people from Godfrey’s Pond trespassing on her property,(no calls to police ever according to Deputy Ferrando)which is a vacant piece of land currently.

In the Call for Service Report, the landowner says she is planning to to expand the farm field and was concerned about liability. She felt as though she was not being taken seriously by the Board of Directors at Godfrey’s Pond. The landowner requested that the private not for profit conservation club pay her rent of $1,000 a month to access the driveway.

After the Board of Directors told the landowner that was too high, she offered to rent the strip of driveway to the group for $500 a month, but the board would not agree to the landowner’s terms. The Report then goes on to say that the landowner received a letter in the mail from an attorney representing Godfrey’s Pond offering to purchase the land for $7,000 and cover all legal expenses for a total cost of about $10,000. The landowner was not happy with this offer and she expressed that the land was not for sale. She then proceeded to block off the driveway that has been in use by the club for many years.

A source says the the club has no legal easement to the property and has been maintaining the access road for over 100 years.

“She won’t sell and she gave us 24 hours to make a decision. She knows there are a lot of people here for the 4th of July. She knows she’s got us over the barrel,” says the source.

The landowner was a member at Godfreys’s Pond.

The Board is looking into their options at this point and is being advised by their attorney at Whiting Law Firm in LeRoy.

About 4:00p.m. Saturday, there was quite a bit of congestion on the roadway as members were at the club to celebrate the July 4th festivities. Many incoming vehicles had to pull over onto the grass as they entered Godfrey’s Pond to let oncoming vehicles exit the club. The posted speed limit is 15 mph and several speed bumps were placed in the roadway. The trees and stumps were replaced with cones and caution tape(by the club after the Deputy responded) with no trespassing signs. The landowner did not block the gravel roadway due to houses using it and there would be an issue for fire and police to have access if it were blocked.

Both parties involved were advised to take the matter to civil court. In the meantime, the roadway will remain down to one lane.

The Genesee County Fish & Game Association was incorporated in the State of New York in 1909 as a not for profit conservation club. The club has about 250 members.