Right of Way Agent

OPEN UNTIL FILLED; APPLICATIONS WILL BE REVIEWED EVERY TWO WEEKS.

Beltrami County is creating an eligibility list for a full-time, benefited Right of Way Agent. Duties will include determining needs, ascertaining property ownership, appraising property, preparing documents and negotiating with landowners for right of way acquisition for county highway projects, and assisting in highway design, plan preparation, and construction inspection.

Performs difficult skilled technical work determining right of way needs and acquires right of ways, easements and property; determines property ownership; conducts property appraisals; prepares required documents; conducts negotiations with landowners for right of way acquisitions; assists in highway design, plan preparation and construction inspections, and related work as apparent or assigned. Work is performed under the limited supervision of the Engineering Operations Manager.   

Hiring salary range is $33.88 to $37.02 per hour with a full range of $33.88 to $42.92 per hour.

Education and Experience 

• Associates/Technical degree in real estate, business, economics, civil engineering, land surveying or a related field
  OR
  A substitution of education and work experience may qualify: Four years of work experience in a related field may be substituted for an Associate's degree
  
  AND
• Three years of professional experience with moderate experience in property appraisal and property purchasing 
• Preferred experience in highway design, computer drafting, or construction inspection

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential function satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Essential Functions

• Coordinates right-of-way needs, both permanent and temporary, for projects or long-range planning efforts.
• Provides professional and complex right of way acquisition elements to satisfy accepted industry standards, regulatory constraints, County financial limits and public participation needs.
• Researches and determines ownership of properties and any incumbrances.
• Prepares right of way maps and calculates areas to be acquired.
• Prepares legal descriptions, legal documents, deeds, easements and temporary easements.
• Prepares property appraisals, reports for acquisitions, and correspondence with landowners.
• Provides oversight of consultant contracts to ensure right of way needs for each project are being satisfied.
• Conducts complex negotiations with landowners; provides information on projects; addresses issues and concerns from stakeholders. Provides right of way information to the public; responds to inquiries.
• Prepares required documents; assists Attorney; provides testimony in condemnation proceedings.
• Assists with design and inspection of highway construction projects; prepares construction documentation, collects and tests required construction materials to ensure compliance with MnDOT and FHWA specifications, performs wage compliance reviews, calculates and measures final quantities of construction items for payment, and verifies compliance with construction specifications and environmental, stormwater and wetland permit. 

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

Comprehensive knowledge of property appraisals; comprehensive knowledge of property legal descriptions; comprehensive knowledge of right of ways and easements; thorough knowledge of land acquisition practices; thorough knowledge of the techniques and methods of construction design; general knowledge of the materials, methods and techniques of road construction;   general knowledge of standard office software, standard accounting software and engineering design and drafting software;  ability to perform engineering computations and complex surveying computations; ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with associates, property owners, other government agencies; engineers and the general public.

Physical Requirements

This work requires the regular exertion of up to 10 pounds of force, frequent exertion of up to 25 pounds of force and occasional exertion of up to 50 pounds of force; work regularly requires speaking or hearing and using hands and fingers, frequently requires sitting, reaching with hands and arms and repetitive motions and occasionally requires standing, walking, climbing or balancing, stooping, kneeling, crouching or crawling, pushing or pulling and lifting; work requires close vision, distance vision, ability to adjust focus, depth perception, color perception, night vision and peripheral vision; vocal communication is required for expressing or exchanging ideas by means of the spoken word and conveying detailed or important instructions to others accurately, loudly or quickly; hearing is required to perceive information at normal spoken word levels and to receive detailed information through oral communications and/or to make fine distinctions in sound; work requires preparing and analyzing written or computer data, visual inspection involving small defects and/or small parts, using of measuring devices, operating machines, operating motor vehicles or equipment and observing general surroundings and activities; work occasionally requires working near moving mechanical parts, exposure to fumes or airborne particles, exposure to toxic or caustic chemicals, exposure to outdoor weather conditions, exposure to the risk of electrical shock, exposure to vibration; work is generally in a moderately noisy location (e.g. business office, light traffic).

Special Requirements

• MnDOT Aggregate Production Certification within 1 year of hire.
• MnDOT Bituminous Plant and Street Certification within 2 years of hire.
• MnDOT Grading and Base Certification within 4 years of hire.
• Preferred Real Property Appraiser License.
• Valid driver's license in the State of Minnesota.
• Employment offer contingent upon successfully passing drug screening and background check.