The Clark County council was at odds Tuesday on the fate of 20 acres of county-owned property near the East Fork of the Lewis River.
The county council voted 2-1 to move 20 acres of agriculture land just east of Paradise Point State Park to the next step of the surplus process.
Councilors David Madore and Tom Mielke said selling the property will allow the county to purchase new land and connect parks and trails. Councilor Jeanne Stewart cast the dissenting vote, calling for a broader look at all properties along the East Fork of the Lewis River.
The county council, and primarily Mielke, has been eyeballing the property — split into one 5-acre parcel and one 15-acre parcel — for several months. The county purchased the land in 1996 for trails and water access, but nearly 20 years later, it remains largely undeveloped but for a private home on the smaller parcel.
The land was purchased for $395,500 using County Conservation Futures and Washington State Wildlife and Recreation Program grants, according to a staff report. That complicates things. Before officially declaring the property surplus and selling it, the county must identify another property that meets the requirements established in the initial grant funding, said Peter Silliman, a policy analyst for the Clark County councilors.
“You have to buy another property for long-term habitat or water access,” Silliman said. “The type of objectives that they had with the original purchase.”
That process will cost an estimated $50,000 for appraisers, surveyors and studies, as well as 275 hours in county staff time to assess.
In recent board time meetings, Mielke has called for the sale of the property in order to purchase a different piece of land to help connect trails in Clark County.
Stewart, meanwhile, suggested that the county instead hold onto the property and look at it in context of all other county-owned properties. Stewart recommended creating a master plan for the East Fork of the Lewis River, cataloging all county-owned property along the river with the intention of creating trails, parks and green space.
“Could we actually create a wonderment of a green belt here?” she asked.
Her idea, however, did not get buy-in from either of her fellow councilors. Madore pointed out that the Clark County Public Works Department recently released its draft parks, recreation and open space comprehensive plan, and it does not include further development along the East Fork of the Lewis River.
The land is the second piece of property in recent weeks the county has voted to move toward surplus. Two weeks ago, the county voted to surplus the Dolle Building, an office building at 500 W. Eighth St. in downtown Vancouver. The property was county-owned for nearly 20 years, and once held several county offices and employees.
