Staff now say the Ures would like to close the purchase on more than half of the land by December. It may take extra county money up front, but staff have been pursuing grant money to fund the ranch purchase.
County Lands and Natural Resources Director Jess Kirby said the county will pay itself back as the state, federal and third-party grant awards come through. The idea is to stretch the general obligation bond voters approved for open space acquisitions in 2021 as far as possible.
The Summit County Council expressed willingness to pursue the accelerated timeline at its meeting Sept. 18.
“Overall, we're extremely happy with what you've done and what's going on for that area, to preserve it,” area resident Gene Cannarella said during public comment.
Summit County put a $5 million down payment on the ranch in 2023, and the total purchase price will be $25 million.
Its plan is to preserve the working ranch on a portion of the land and set aside other parcels for open space and recreation. Cannarella, who lives on W. 200 South, asked the county to be mindful of traffic impacts as it goes through the planning process.
There are still plenty of moving parts: staff have amended plans for the land by dropping community housing, which drew some public pushback at the county’s open houses.
And an isolated parcel the county is buying from the Ures happens to be where Francis City is looking to extend Hallam Road to meet state Route 248.
Kirby explained that open space bond money shouldn’t be used to purchase that particular 10-acre parcel at first.
“I think it's the wisest move at this point, because of the unknown of the Hallam Road extension and where that would fall,” she told the council. “We could, at a further point, make that into a conservation parcel.”
The council agreed, and it will be possible to subdivide that parcel to purchase future conservation easements, which would ordinarily restrict new roads forever.
