Item:
Title
Approve the Final Budget for the Amed Tilley Farm Conservation Easement and Approve Capital Project Amendment No. 20CPA000011 Decreasing the Open Space & Farmland Preservation Capital Project 4730DC083 by $82,850 and Budget Amendment No. 20BCC000030 transferring $82,850 to the General Fund to Support the Purchase of the Glenn Farm Conservation Easement
Body
Date of BOCC Meeting: November 12, 2019
Request for Board Action:
Agenda Text
The Board is requested to approve the final budget for the Amed Tilley Conservation Easement and approve Capital Project Amendment No. 20CPA000011 decreasing the Open Space & Farmland Preservation Capital Project 4730DC083 by $82,850 and Budget Amendment No. 20BCC000030 transferring $82,850 to the General Fund to support the purchase of the 34.5 acre Amed Tilley Farm conservation easement. The property is part of the historic Amed Tilley Farm, originally a tobacco farm, that includes the Amed Tilley House (www.opendurham.org/buildings/amed-tilley-house ), a County-registered historic home built in 1904. John Monroe purchased the property for his specialty nursery, Architectural Trees, that was known for its distinctive and unusual plants and large mature trees. In 2010 Mr. Monroe planted over 700 blueberry plants of five different varieties for a U-Pick blueberry farm, which is currently managed by Family Farmstead.
The federal Agricultural Lands Easement Program (ALE) grant awarded to the farm will pay for 50 percent of the federally approved appraisal value of the easement rights. The appraisal approved by the federal program has to meet federal standards, and the approved value for the easement was $160,500. The federal grant pays for $80,250 of the land cost of the easement; the remaining 50 percent is provided by Durham County plus associated closing costs. No new county funding is needed since the $82,850 for the county's share of the acquisition and closing costs was previously set aside from open ...
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