Title
Resolution to Approve Participation Agreement with Ann Arbor Township and Washtenaw County Parks and Recreation and Appropriate $59,640.00 from the Open Space and Parkland Preservation Millage for Purchase of a Conservation Easement on the Koch Property (8 Votes Required)
Memorandum
This resolution approves a participation agreement with Ann Arbor Township and Washtenaw County Parks and Recreation for the purchase of a conservation easement on a 40-acre property owned by Kenneth and Shirley Koch in Ann Arbor Township. The resolution also approves an appropriation of funds not to exceed $59,640.00 (24% of purchase price) for the purchase from the Open Space and Parkland Preservation Millage Proceeds.
The landowners applied to the Ann Arbor Township Farmland and Open Space Land Protection Program and the Township has been the lead agency in the negotiations with the landowners. The Township commissioned an appraisal, completed in October 2017, that determined the fair market value of the conservation easement on the property to be $252,000.00. The Township also applied for and was awarded $73,080.00 in USDA-NRCS Agricultural Conservation Easement Program (ACEP) funding for this project. The Township is the lead agency and will be the grantee of the conservation easement.
Kenneth and Shirley Koch Property, Ann Arbor Township
The property is approximately 40 acres and is located in Section 12 of Ann Arbor Township with legal access from Earhardt and Warren Roads. It is owned by Kenneth and Shirley Koch. The property scored in the top 15% of applications received by the Greenbelt Program in the scoring system developed and approved by the Greenbelt Advisory Commission. The property is mostly agricultural and contains approximately 26 tillable acres in five fields divided by tree rows. The parcel is located within the Huron River watershed. It is located adjacent to the Novick Conservation Easement, within 0.5 mile of the Dominican Meadows Preserve, an...
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