Agenda - 06-07-2005-9a - Laserfiche WebLink

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2 1987, this 8-acre triangle -along with lands east of Pickett Road -remained in Duke ownership, although no longer a part of the Duke Forest. In the 2004-2006 Lands Legacy Action Plan, one identified priority was to continue to work with TLC and Duke on the acquisitions of lands along this section of the New Hope corridor. In the summer of 2004, toward this end, Orange County contacted Duke regarding the potential interest in selling the 8 acres west of Pickett Road as called for in the New Hape Plan, Shortly thereafter, the proposed Erwin Trace project planned for the Duke land east of Pickett Raad became the source of considerable discussion, delaying but not altering the proposal to acquire the 8-acre "Hallow Rack Trailhead" land, An appraisal was conducted in early 2005 to assess the value of the land, A contract to purchase the property was prepared in the spring of 2005 and transmitted to Duke, In April, Duke notified the County of acceptance of the contract to purchase the 8-acre property, at the appraised value of $72,000 ($9,000 per acre), Duke has two conditions of interest, which are incorporated into the attached Letter Agreement, Those are: 1. Representatives from Duke University would be involved in the design process far the Hollow Rack Trailhead and the larger New Hope Creek Preserve; and 2. There would be no public access to the property until such time as the planned New Hope Trail connecting the property southwards to the Durham County line, or some other mutually-agreeable subset of the trail network, is constructed. Duke has reviewed the proposed language and Letter Agreement and is in agreement with the terms. If acquired, the praperty would be placed in the Lands Legacy Program and would be part of a future New Hope Preserve slang with other adjoining lands, to link the Duke Forest and open space lands in Orange and Durham counties that connect to Jordan Lake. A future trail connection is planned to run south into Durham County and connect with trails in that jurisdiction. The design far this trail has not yet been undertaken by the partner jurisdictions and TLC, FINANCIAL IMPACT: The cost of purchase of the 8 acres is $72,000, with additional transaction casts of approximately $5,000. Funding far the acquisition would come from the 2001 Parks and Open Space Bond, Lands Legacy portion ($1,477,000 currently available). RECOMMENDATION(S): The Manager recommends that the Board: • Approve the purchase of approximately 8 acres of land located on Erwin Road from Duke University; and • Authorize the Chair to sign (1) the contract an behalf of the County, subject to final review by staff and county attorney and (2) the Letter Agreement regarding the conditions of interest described above; and • Instruct the County Attorney and staffs from ERCD and Finance to schedule and complete a closing on the praperty expected to occur on or before July 31, 2005.