California Surveyors Forums

Hello,

As part of my reseach into some Boundary Line Agreement issues and conflicts with and within government agencies, I came across this recorded document from Alameda County. It involves my old friend Hal Bakken.

Enjoy.

That is one amazing Boundary Line Agreement...an amazing story. There are so many lessons there. Of them, the one that stands out the most to me is the intransigence and myopia of that C.E. at the head of the Alameda County Department of Public Works; I've run across people in positions of authority with traits similar to his, but not nearly to that degree.

I can't help but think that this County Surveyor was NOT dialed in--at all--with the California survey community, perhaps not even the engineering community. Probably didn't attend association meetings. Probably didn't read any journals, statewide or national. Probably didn't have much of a working relationship with other County Surveyors. Probably didn't attend any conferences, seminars, workshops, or the like.

Why, after this issue was clearly headed for a train wreck, didn't he bother to call and chat with any other licensed surveyor or engineer to get their opinion?

And that parcel map resolution that he forced upon that LS. OMG! Didn't anyone point out to the CS that his "fence line projection" caused the E-W distance along Lot 23 to come in shorter than record? Now I didn't do the math, but it sure looks to me like holding the iron bolt would have brought that distance much closer to the record distance.

As for the work I've run across in Alameda County during the last two decades? Let me put it this way: that county appears to me to have more than its fair share of marginal surveys on record. Since this incident occurred in 1982, is it possible that this CE's legacy lives on via the practitioners that came under his unfortunate authority?

Three cheers to LS Bakken for sticking to his guns!

deal as far as I am concerned. That survey had to have taken "forever" to resolve. And I m just gonna have to start doing the crossword puzzels in the dailey paper.

myoptic......short sighted....closed eyes
intransigence.....refusing to come to terms or politically iirreconcilable