The Herkimer Village Board on Tuesday heard a presentation outlining a proposal to redraw its boundary with the village of Mohawk.
Dennis Mowers, of D.L. Mowers Land Surveyors in Mohawk, presented the board with a map he created after discovering an error while consulting the Mohawk Village Board on its water project.
The legal boundary between the two municipalities is based upon incorporated maps drawn in 1844 using the old Mohawk River, Mowers explained. He proposed changing the lines to reflect the current Erie Canal, created in 1922 as the Barge Canal.
Herkimer would take ownership of everything to the southern bank of the canal under the proposal. And Mohawk would gain two small parcels between Route 5S and the canal.
There are no buildings on the land in question, and a lot of the parcels are swamp land, Mowers said.
But there is a reason to make the change.
Changing the lines would shore up liability questions that, if unchanged, could potentially leave both municipalities open to simultaneous lawsuits, according to Mowers. Additionally, making sure all parcels have clear ownership avoids any tax-related disputes.
Mohawk Trustee George Cryer also attended the meeting and said his board was open to changing the boundaries. “[But] we’re not looking to get anything out of this,” he added.
The Herkimer Board plans to research the situation before making any decision.