Filsinger case goes under advisement

The court hearings for the City of Sidney’s property nuisance abatement case against Marvin O. Filsinger of Filsinger Excavating and Filsinger Emergency Services continued with the presentation of more evidence on behalf of the defendants Friday.

The case is being heard before Cheyenne County District Judge Derek Weimer and there was an addition to the defense council, Lincoln Attorney Craig Dirrim. Dirrim served as co-council to the defendant alongside Sidney Attorney Don Miller.

Representing the city was Ft. Collins, Colo. Attorney Charlie Cuypers with City of Sidney City Manager Gary Person and Sidney City Attorney J. Leef also in attendance.

Conclusion of evidence was presented on the city officials’ motion to abate public nuisances on the Filsinger’s fairgrounds property.

Dirrim called Filsinger to the stand as video evidence on the cleanup that has been progressing on the property was shown to the court.

Dirrim inquired if Filsinger feels that he had taken steps to cleanup his property to be in compliance with what the city wanted.

“Yes, I believe I have fully complied with the requirements that were asked,” said Filsinger.

Dirrim then asked the defendant to narrate as the DVD video of a walk-through of the property commenced.

The video began showing tractors that Filsinger noted were operable and used to move equipment around for his business. It continued to show trailers Filsinger said he uses to haul heavy equipment for jobs such as derailments for his company. He noted the site has approximately 12 trailers total.

The video continued to show the trailers, lowboy trailers and grain trailers, which Filsinger said are all licensed except for two that he had misplaced the original titles. The two that remained unlicensed could be removed from the property immediately upon city officials’ wishes, said Filsinger.

He said that all the trailers are operable and that some of the trailers held machinery used for the business. Some of the trailers are used to haul hay as well, he said.

The video also showed a crane, a water tank – which Filsinger said could be tied to the back of a truck or trailer and used in road construction – and axles for sale to truckers.

There are also trailers with siding to haul irrigation pipes that Filsinger said he uses in his businesses. One container shown in the video held piles of scrap metal that the defendant said has been removed, and a yellow dumpster that had used lumber which the city has picked up and moved.

Dirrim then asked Filsinger if all scrap metal and scrap lumber had been removed from the premises. Filsinger said that it has.

There was a rack of iron shown in the video that Filsinger said he used in his business all the time when needing to build things and that he can’t buy that kind of metal in town.

“It’s like having a used car on a used car lot,” said the defendant.

There was also a pile of lumber on the property that Filsinger said he uses but can be removed if asked to.

Attorney Cuypers then took his turn asking Filsinger questions while slowly rolling through the video. He provided court officials with a certified copy of the City of Sidney’s city code as well as zoning code for references. He asked if the defendant’s property is in fact leased from the Nebraska State Board of Education’s land. Filsinger agreed that it was.

Cuypers asked if the defendant had served on the Sidney City Council for six years and had ample opportunities to review the city’s code and city’s zoning code. Filsinger said he had been able to review it when it had been brought before council.

Cuypers asked what Filsinger’s businesses entailed and he replied that they involve services such as digging basements, water and sewage lines, demolition, hauling gravel, and cleaning up truck wrecks as well as towing and derailing.

Filsinger said that he believed that his last derailment project had been two years ago. Filsinger also said that in his excavating business he had one full-time employee, his son helped him, and that as needed he could hire on up to 10 employees for certain projects. For his emergency service business Filsinger said he had little-to-no employees.

Cuypers then went through every trailer on site in the video and asked Filsinger what business owned what trailer. The defendant answered that he was unsure of which company most of the trailers were titled under.

“It’s one of the Filsinger companies’. There are over 100 different vehicles and nine different companies; I don’t know which company titles each one,” said the defendant.

Filsinger said that one or two of the trailers had been licensed in the past two months but the rest were licensed in a previous time.

The defendant admitted that some of the trailers and tractors had been moved to the property from the Illinois or Oscar Glover properties after the original court order, but that none had been added after Jan. 9.

Cuypers then asked if any of the equipment had been certified by safety inspectors to be roadworthy and operable. The defendant answered that they hadn’t but that his staff was trained to inspect the machines.

“We are qualified to inspect our own trailers. We don’t take them out on the road if they aren’t safe,” said Filsinger.

In reference to two storage containers seen on the property in the video Cuypers asked Filsinger whether or not he knows that he was required by the city to apply for a special use permit to keep those units on the property. Filsinger said that he had been unaware of the needed permit requirements.

Cuypers then inquired if Filsinger actually farms on the property he has. The defendant responded that he had 1200 acres of land and that he sometimes hayed the property but did not grow any other crops.

Among the rest of the equipment was also a cattle feeder that Filsinger explained hadn’t been used for two years.

Filsinger said that although in the video it appears that some trailers had been parked on the property that hadn’t been there originally, he said that none had been added after Jan. 9. Instead a lot of the equipment had been moved around.

He said that he was under the impression that the added equipment after the original court agreement was not included in the original list of public nuisances.

Attention then turned to the John Deere tractor that Filsinger said he hasn’t used for two years. The defendant said that it is usable but just might need some “tinkering” and gas.

Filsinger agreed that he was asked to remove all used lumber and still has some on his property. However, he said that he used the materials to maintain his equipment and for projects.

Filsinger said that however the two trailers he was asked to remove from the property in the original group walkthrough have been taken from the property.

The defendant said that although he had tires still on the property, the damaged and unusable ones had been removed and only spare tires that could still be used for trailers are left.

Cuypers asked if it was true that trailers sitting at the Oscar Glover property had not been moved for 10 to 12 years prior to their travel to the fairgrounds property. Filsinger agreed that it is true that some of the trailers had only traveled the less than 2-mile distance in that period of time but that they were still very operable.

Cuypers then asked if he had other property such as property at the old depot premises that could be used to store some of his equipment. He said he had moved some tractors out there and two trucks. Filsinger said he was unsure of how much room and acreage he had out there but would check into it.

Cuypers then asked whether or not the defendant feels he has come under compliance with court orders. Filsinger answered that except for the two trailers being unlicensed and the bridge plank lumber being stored that he had done all that had been asked of him.

Dirrim then asked Filsinger if he could remove the items still in question if needed. Filsinger responded that he could.

Weimer said that he would take all the matter presented under consideration and review all of the evidence. He said he would allow both legal parties to submit a written brief argument to close the case.

Cuypers said he will submit his next Wednesday and Dirrim said the defendant’s will be submitted next Friday.

The judge said he will then look at all the evidence and statements and make a decision.