Summit County expected to close on the 910 Cattle Ranch purchase by the end of September. But then, the federal government shut down Oct. 1.
“It's not the money so much as it is some of the procedures around some appraisals and things,” he said of the delay in closing on KPCW’s “Local News Hour” Oct. 28. “The shutdown of the government has just caused everyone to either be furloughed, or the work's just not getting done.”
The county made a $15 million down payment on the property behind Jeremy Ranch. The rest of the purchase is covered with a $40 million federal grant.
Summit County isn’t close to missing the deadline to seal the deal, which is more than two years away.
But it does have to keep paying $150,000 in interest and $5,000 in rent on the 8,600-acre ranch each month as long as the purchase is in limbo.
This is the second time that issues within the federal government have held up the acquisition.
A temporary freeze on federal grant funds earlier this year set the process back an estimated four months.
Summit County staff say the U.S. Forest Service won’t rescind the grant money it awarded to the county in May 2024.
Summit County is a financial supporter of KPCW.
