IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) - A county conservation board in Iowa is spending about $3 million to buy property that includes extensive woodland and several barns.
Johnson County’s conservation board voted Tuesday to buy 132 acres (53 hectares) from the state Natural Heritage Foundation, the Iowa City Press-Citizen reported . The property was formerly owned by Dick Schwab and Katherine Burford.
The deal is a “donation purchase agreement” rather than an outright purchase, said Larry Gullett, the county’s conservation director. Gullett said the county will buy the property for less than the $4 million assessed value.
“At this point, the total donation exceeds $1.3 million,” Gullett said. “This is the largest donation to conservation in the history of Johnson County, and we’re very thankful for the generosity of the landowners.”
The county will lease about 100 acres (40.5 hectares) of the property beginning July 2, before purchasing that land for about $1.7 million in the fall. The county will purchase the remaining acreage next year.
County conservation workers will study the land during the lease period, Gullett said. The Conservation Department will then create a plan to manage and operate the land.
Critics said discussions about the project shouldn’t have occurred in closed session meetings and that the structures on the properties don’t fit with Conservation Bond language.
County Supervisor Janelle Rettig cast the lone vote against the county’s $127.7 million fiscal 2019 budget last month, which included a line item for the property purchase.
“We’re talking about buying things that were never voted on, and we’re doing it in the darkness of night,” Rettig said. “I think, in this case, there should have been public transparency.”
The purchase is an opportunity to protect a large area of hardwood forest, said Mike Carberry, chair of the Board of Supervisor.
“We have trusted the Conservation Board, and they have come through every time. They will come through this time,” Carberry said. “This is a high-quality project that is worth having; this is worth protecting.”
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Information from: Iowa City Press-Citizen, http://www.press-citizen.com/
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