The Trust for Public Lands has been given a green light by the Blaine County Commission to conduct a feasibility study looking at various funding methods for protecting critical open space in the county.
Voting to authorize the organization to gather information on feasible funding measures and other strategies to advance the county's land conservation policy goals and implement its transfer of development rights (TDR) program were commissioners Sarah Michael and Tom Bowman.
County Commissioner Larry Schoen wasn't present at the meeting Tuesday, April 30.
The trust is a national, nonprofit land conservation organization based in San Francisco. The group works to conserve land for people to enjoy as parks, community gardens, historic sites, rural lands and other natural places.
As part of its study, the trust will provide county leaders with a list of possible actions the county could take to preserve select parcels of privately owned open space land in Blaine County.
What actions the county would like the trust to pursue as part of the study are detailed in a letter of intent the commissioners approved during Tuesday's meeting.
Working with staff of the Hailey-based Wood River Land Trust, Schoen reworded several aspects of the letter of intent during the past week. Schoen took the task on after a meeting April 24 where he expressed concerns with some of the wording in the letter.
On Tuesday, Michael said Schoen had indicated he could support the letter with the changes made.
"We have a letter in front of us that he is comfortable with," Michael said.
Bowman also agreed that the letter was satisfactory.
"I am very comfortable with it and am willing to sign it," Bowman said.
Among other things, the letter stipulates that the county won't be responsible for funding the study. Additionally, the county also states in the letter that its request to have the trust complete the study doesn't imply any commitment on the part of the county.
"That doesn't mean Blaine County will necessarily move forward on the recommendation," Michael said. "We're just interested in the information."
One option the study would likely consider is putting a Blaine County open space bond to a vote of county residents at some future date.
In general, open space bonds allow local governments to buy open space easements from landowners in exchange for the landowner permanently giving up the development rights to their property. The easements can be used to protect agricultural resources, wildlife habitat, recreational and public access, and areas of scenic value.
Whether county voters would support such a bond may be answered by the study being undertaken by the trust.
In 1999, a $6.5 million open space bond request failed to gain the necessary two-thirds majority required to pass in Idaho. The 10-year bond would have increased property taxes by about $12 per $100,000 of assessed property value, the Blaine County Assessor's Office reported at the time.
In other actions Tuesday:
Commissioners approved a draft letter "dissolving" the Blaine-Ketchum Housing Authority. Under the dissolution plan, the authority's board of commissioners will expand from five to seven members, and the name of the organization will change to the Blaine County Housing Authority in recognition of its more countywide role.
Under the reorganization, the five municipalities in Blaine County will be given more of a leadership role in the housing authority. The commissioners' approval of the draft letter is dependent on the county's prosecuting attorney office being able to draft the necessary amendments within a fixed 30-day timeline the housing authority has requested.
Commissioners also approved a new contract for services with Animal Shelter of the Wood River Valley. The most significant change in the new agreement is a stipulation that Blaine County will pay the nonprofit shelter a flat fee for the animal shelter services it provides the county.
Under the new deal, the county will pay the shelter an annual sum of $24,000, to be paid in four regular installments. The contract period for the new agreement begins Sept. 30.
