Land sale approved
The discussion that has dominated Adams County Council and Commissioner meetings for the past couple months has finally reached its first major decision. After another lengthy consideration about what to do with the County-owned 140 acres of farm land on County Road 200 East that surrounds the Golden Meadows was approved for a sale of the complete property in a narrow 4-2 vote.
Despite seemingly being at a standstill when both local government bodies left their meeting together last month, the shift towards a sale became evident quickly in the meeting. The question on the council’s mind Tuesday morning, however, was how much of the land should they sell. The most vocal duo on the topic was councilman John Summers and councilman Fred Valez, who both expressed various reservations they had about selling the frontage along the road,
“I am probably in favor of selling, outside of that frontage,” explained Valez. “But I think that it’s happening fast and we should take a year to really explore our options.was kind of rushed at the end of the year. I would just like to make sure that we have a good plan to do it right. For this year and next year, even if we lease it, I don’t feel like it is the end of the world.”
“I am still a proponent of keeping the frontage along 200 East that is around 15 acres for future interests,” stated Summers, to which Valez agreed. “I am still not sold on selling it right now, I believe holding its value like a savings account. Those interest rates are advantageous and it is a lot of money but a thousand dollar an acre increase in value beats the CDs return. “
Rex Moore, who was attending his first meeting as a member of the council, explained his perspective of gaining the money now so that the bonds can begin compounding faster to reach a higher sum of cash for a large capital product.
Councilman Sprunger then made a motion to sell the land outside of the frontage, to which there seemed to be a consensus among the council, however when one council member asked the Commissioners, all of which were present, they acknowledged that they will veto the sale if it is not in the land’s
entirety. Commissioner Board Chairman Stan Stoppenhagen explained that the frontage would not be used for any additions to Golden Meadows, as those would occur elsewhere, and that the three Commissioners believed that not selling the frontage would hurt the overall value of the sale because the frontage has the most value.
After hearing Stoppenhagen, Sprunger moved forward with a motion to sell the entire sum of land and received the second from Rex Moore. The vote passed 4-2, with Summers and newly elected councilman Bob Rhoades opposed. Though he had oppositions against selling the frontage, Valez voted in favor. Had he not, then the decision would have rested in the hands of reelected County Council President, Dennis Bluhm. Though there are still steps to take, the land will be available for sale at some point over the next few months. The next Adams County Council meeting will be held on February 14th, at 8:30 a.m.