Washington County adding to parkland

A parcel of land along the Mississippi River will become Washington County's latest park acquisition.

Commissioners voted Tuesday to buy the $1.96 million forested property, which has 2,000 feet of shoreline along the Mississippi River.

"Spectacular! You have to see it to believe it," is how Commissioner Lisa Weik described the 46 acres that will become part of Grey Cloud Island Regional Park.

The county's parks director, John Elholm, said the sale should be completed in about a month.

The agreement allows the current owners, John and Julie Appert, to lease the property from the county for 25 years. A house, garage and outdoor pool will be removed eventually and the land otherwise will be left in its natural state, the agreement said.

About $1.5 million of the purchase price will come from the Metropolitan Council. The county will pay the remaining $490,000 from Land and Water Legacy funds.

Washington County came under criticism from conservation groups last year for delaying purchases under the legacy fund, which voters approved in 2006 to save natural areas from development. The fund uses bond revenues to raise as much as $20 million to pay for open space and clean water preservation.

Under the agreement with the Appert family, the county could extend its Grey Cloud Island trail through the property. The purchase saved land that was "threatened by development pressure and fragmentation," according to county documents, and will help ensure good water quality on the Mississippi and nearby streams and lakes.

Commissioners also met in a closed-door session to review financial negotiations on 11 other county properties extending from Hugo in the north to Denmark Township and Cottage Grove in the south.

State law permits closing such meetings for legal discussions involving offers and counteroffers for land.

Among the purchases under consideration is right-of-way land used by the Minnesota Zephyr dinner train until recently.

Tuesday's unanimous vote came just a week after commissioners voted to spend $1.34 million from the legacy fund in a partnership with Woodbury -- which pays $2.18 million -- to buy 66 acres for a park in that city.