PORT TOWNSEND — Jefferson County commissioners have approved a resolution that allows county-owned land to be sold to the Jefferson County Public Utility District, with the agreement allowing an easement for an extension to the Olympic Discovery Trail.
By declaring the land surplus through the resolution, it allows the county to sell the about 1.38 acres that sit adjacent to the PUD facility at 310 Four Corners Road.
That will allow for a 0.21-mile easement for the Olympic Discovery Trail.
The property surplused is known as the Four Corners Road County Pit. Historically, it has been used for gravel extraction and more recently to deposit ditch spoils, dirt, sod and other excess non-deleterious materials generated from road construction projects, according to commission documents.
The county public works department told staff there are other places to deposit the materials and the property could be declared surplus, commission documents stated.
The overall assessed value of the property is $31,300. The negotiations between the county public works department and the PUD are expected to have the Olympic Discovery Trail (ODT) easement value $18,600, and the PUD will pay the $12,700 difference, according to commission documents.
The commissioners unanimously approved the agreement during their Monday morning meeting following a public hearing that elicited no public comment.
The arrangement benefits both agencies, the documents said, since the county will have the new ODT right-of-way and the PUD will have additional land area and road frontage along Four Corners Road.
“It looks as if that parcel can be put to beneficial use by the PUD and will allow us to obtain an easement for the ODT in a strategic location to advance that project,” said Kate Dean, district 1 commissioner.
“This seems like a no-brainer to me.”
The other two commissioners agreed with Dean and passed the resolution with little further discussion.
The agreement and commissioners meeting can be viewed at tinyurl.com/PDN-BOCCSurplus.
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Jefferson County Reporter Zach Jablonski can be reached at zjablonski@peninsuladailynews.com.
