HomeMy WebLinkAboutBOCC Packet 01092013 Saltonstall
AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY
MEETING DATE:
January 9, 2013
AGENDA ITEM TITLE
: AN ORDINANCE AUTHORIZING SALTONSTALL
PROPERTY ACQUISITION.
STAFF RESPONSIBLE:
Dale Will
SUMMARY OF ISSUE:
Should the BOCC confirm an Emergency Ordinance authorizing
Pitkin County to fund the entire purchase price of the Saltonstall project, in anticipation of
being reimbursed by Eagle County, GOCO, and Basalt?
BACKGROUND:
The Board of County Commissioners approved Ordinance 07-2012
authorizing this acquisition and appropriating $1,866,250 Open Space Funds towards the
purchase price. The County has now secured funding commitments adequate to satisfy our
t $2,000,000,
the Town of Basalt at $500,000, GOCO at $600,000, and the Mid Valley Trails Committee at
and
$50,000. See GOCO Contract # 12410, Resolution 070-2012 authorizing IGAs with
Eagle County, and the Town of Basalt.
The BOCC approved this Emergency Ordinance on December 16 to allow a closing by year end
using Pitkin County funds for the entire purchase price. This closing has not yet occurred due
to the difficulty of surveying and approving some legal exhibits needed to locate conservation
and access easements that are part of the deal. Retaining the authority to close based on
assurances of reimbursement could still be very important to completing this project.
Andrew Saltonstall desires to close this consummate the sale in 2012, and neither Eagle, Basalt,
nor GOCO may be able to distribute funds until 2013.
The 145-acre Saltonstall Ranch includes 50 acres of irrigated fields and 95 acres on the
flanks of the Crown. Development of this property could significantly impact critical
winter range on the Crown, pushing the suburban fringe further up those slopes and diluting
Also included in our contract is a conservation easement on approximately 25 acres of a
separate parcel that lies on the Roaring Fork River.
offers there are
only a few buildings to show us where the Emma Townsite was a schoolhouse, a
mercantile, stately brick Victorian house. But much of the agricultural lands remain intact.
The agricultural land include some of the most historically productive lands in the Roaring
Fork Valley, and has substantial water rights from the historic Home Supply Ditch.
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(photo provided by Temple Glassier)
In addition to its fertile bottomland, the Ranch includes the steep red slopes up to 1,000 feet
above the river. This high expanse comprises the north east corner of the Crown itself,
most of which is administered by the BLM, which shares nearly a mile long border with the
Ranch. The Crown is of immense importance to wildlife and to the human community.
Our ownership of the Saltonstall property will allow more holistic management of the
Crown. BLM Field Manager Steve Bennet has written GOCO in support of our
acquisition.
This acquisition has also attracted wide ranging support from citizens groups. In addition to
the Mid Valley Trails Committee, the project is supported by the Roaring Fork Food Policy
Council, the Aspen Center For Environmental Studies, and the Crown Mountain Recreation
District. Happy Day Ranch, Emma Farms, and Crown Mountain Ranch have also written in
support.
LINK TO STRATEGIC PLAN:
agricultural lands, recreational resources, scenery and habitat in our valley. Further by
partnering with Eagle County, the Town of Basalt, and GOCO, this project fulfills the
for advancing fiscal responsibility through partnerships.
KEY DISCUSSION ITEMS (ALTERNATIVES):
The alternative to this Emergency
Ordinance would be to revert to the effective requirement in Ordinance 07-2012 that all the
partners funds are available at closing. This limitation would limit the Countys flexibility in
meeting the landowners desire to close the deal as soon as possible.
BUDGETARY IMPACT
: The attached Ordinance will amend the Open Space Budget to
authorize the expenditure of the full purchase price, with reimbursements to follow.
RECOMMENDED BOCC ACTION:
Staff recommends that the Board of County approve
the attached Ordinance on confirmatory second.
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ATTACHMENTS:
Saltonstall Ranch Area Map.
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AN EMERGENCY ORDINANCE OF THE
BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
OF PITKIN COUNTY, COLORADO, AMENDING ORDINANCE O7-2012 AND
AUTHORIZING SALTONSTALL PROPERTY ACQUISITION
ORDINANCE #_ , SERIES OF 2012
RECITALS
1. The Voters of Pitkin County and the Pitkin County Commissioners established an Open
Space and Trails Fund for the purposes of preserving and providing open space and trails
resources, and established an Open Space and Trails Board of Trustees to guide the
expenditure of those funds.
2. The Saltonstall property includes two landscapes straddling the boundary
of Pitkin and Eagle Counties; wild lands on the Crown, and a broad plain of agricultural
land irrigated by the Home Supply Ditch at its base.
3. The Saltonstall property is just outside Pitkin County, but possesses natural, wildlife, scenic,
recreational, and agricultural values that are important to the citizens of Pitkin County.
4. Development of the Property would result in loss of important habitat, would degrade the
scenery of the mid valley, and would forever block the possibility of public access on the
property between the Rio Grande Trail and federal lands on the Crown.
5. On March 1, 2012, the Pitkin County Open Space and Trails Board recommended that the
BOCC approve the proposed $5 million purchase contingent on fundraising from other
sources.
6. The Board of County Commissioners approved Ordinance 07-2012 authorizing this
acquisition and appropriating $1,866,250 Open Space Funds towards the purchase price.
7. The County has now secured funding commitments adequate to satisfy our objective of
payment to $1,866,250.
8. On July 2, 2012, Eagle County appropriated $2,000,000 toward this acquisition.
9. On July 24, 2012, the Town of Basalt appropriated $500,000 toward this acquisition.
10. Pursuant to a Grant Agreement with Great Outdoors Colorado (GOCO) GOCO is
committed to providing $600,000 toward this acquisition (GOCO Contract # 12410).
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11.Pursuant to Resolution 070-2012 the Board of County Commissioners entered into
agreements with Eagle County, Town of Basalt, and GOCO regarding their funding of the
Saltonstall acquisition.
12. Andrew Saltonstall desires to close this consummate the sale in 2012, and neither Eagle,
Basalt, nor GOCO may be able to distribute funds until 2013.
13. Pitkin County desires to ensure the purchase is consummated notwithstanding the timing of
the funding, and therefore wishes to amend Ord. 07-2012, as adopted on March 28, 2012
by appropriating up to the full amount of the $5,000,000 purchase price and relying on
reimbursement from Eagle, GOCO, and Basalt.
14. On December 18, 2012, the Open Space and Trails Board recommended an initial
expenditure of up to $5,000,000 of Open Space funds, with an anticipated repayment of
$600,000 from GOCO, $2,000,000 from Eagle County, $500,000 from the Town of Basalt.
NOW THEREFORE BE IT ORDAINED
by the Board of County
Commissioners of Pitkin County, Colorado, that:
1. The Board amend Ordinance 07-2012 to approves an expenditure of up to
$5,000,000 for the Saltonstall property.
2. Upon approval of the form by the Open Space Director and County Attorney, the
,
Chair is authorized to execute other documents, including but not limited to a
revised Contract consistent with the agreement described in that prior Ordinance,
needed to consummate this transaction.
3. After acquiring the property, the County may convey a conservation easement to
Eagle County and/or another mutually agreed upon qualified organization, as
provided for under the Pitkin County Home Rule Charter Article 13.5.3.
4.
Director that the County is in substantial compliance with the Eagle IGA, Basalt IGA
and GOCO Grant agreement such that each entity is assured of reimbursing Pitkin
County as provided in those agreements.
5. That adjustments be made to the year 2012 budget as follows:
OPEN SPACE AND TRAILS FUND
Previous Revised
Budget This Change Proj Budget
Saltonstall Property Acquisition
Expenditure $1,866,250 $3,144,750 $5,000,000
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6. The BOCC finds that adoption of this emergency ordinance is necessary to
secure the Saltonstall Property and related Easements for the immediate
preservation of the public health, safety and welfare of the citizens of Pitkin
County and therefore declares this ordinance and legislation to be effective
immediately.
INTRODUCED, FIRST READ, AND APPROVED ON THE 19th DAY OF
December, 2012.
NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING PUBLISHED IN THE ASPEN TIMES
WEEKLY ON THE ____ DAY OF _________ 2013.
CONFIRMED UPON SECOND READING AND PUBLIC HEARING ON
THE ___________________.
PUBLISHED AFTER ADOPTION IN THE WEEKEND EDITION OF THE
ASPEN TIMES ON THE ______ DAY OF _____________, 2013.
ATTEST: BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
OF PITKIN COUNTY, COLORADO
______________________________ ______________________________
Jeanette Jones Michael M. Owsley
Deputy Clerk Chair
Date: _________________________
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APPROVED AS TO FORM:
______________________________ _____________________________
John Ely Jon Peacock
County Attorney County Manager
_______________________________
Dale Will, Director
Open Space and Trails Program
Ordinance _______-2012
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