LAKE COUNTY — The county”s leading park official danced on his way up to the front of the meeting hall Tuesday to ask the board of supervisors to approve a substantial land purchase on top of Mount Konocti. In a unanimous vote, the board bought a combined 1,688 acres on the mountain and began efforts to preserve the land in its natural state.
“I”ve been trying to buy the mountain for 27 years,” County Public Services Director Kim Clymire said.
Tuesday”s vote brought eight months of negotiations to a close between the county and the land”s owners.
The board took three actions. The first was to buy 176 acres on Buckingham Peak for $1.2 million, a price negotiated with owner Buckingham Peak, LLC since November 2007. The second action was to sign an option to purchase five parcels totaling approximately 1,512 acres on Wright Peak, Howard Peak and Clark Peak for $2.6 million from Michael Fowler and Diana Madura, successor trustees of the Elsa Fowler Revocable Trust of 2002.
Clymire said the Fowlers gave the county the first option to buy the land before listing it on the open market.
“Wow. This is a great day. I”d like to point out that this is just the beginning. Everybody has a relationship with that mountain, and the opportunity to acquire it will never present itself again,” Supervisor Denise Rushing said.
Representatives from the Sierra Club Lake Group, Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the surrounding neighborhood spoke in favor of the purchase, and a crowd of approximately 30 people gave a standing ovation when the board took action.
“I”ve been on the board for 10 years, and this is the biggest thing that will make the most difference for everybody, now and in the future,” Supervisor Jeff Smith said.
The third action the board took was to sign an agreement with Conservation Partners and Cal-BLMX, Inc. to generate money for the 1,512 acres. The agreement outlines a land swap where the county will sell surplus BLM land to generate between $300,000 and $1 million for the purchase.
The county will put a $100,000 down payment on the land this week, according to county Chief Administrative Officer Kelly Cox, and will have a year to pay the balance.
Supervisor Rob Brown, whose district includes the mountain property, said he supported the acquisition. He expressed concern about Konocti Road, the primary vehicle access route.
“Even without the purchase, that road is way, way far away from being up to standard,” Brown said.
The property atop Buckingham Peak includes a telecommunication tower that will generate approximately $86,000 for the county. According to Cox, that amount is expected to grow to $122,000 in 10 years. Cox said a primary use of that revenue would be to fix the road.
Contact Tiffany Revelle at trevelle@record-bee.com
