TITLE
Title
PURCHASE OF TWO EASEMENTS ON BANDERA FARMS PROPERTY FOR FUTURE PIEDMONT GREENWAY
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SPONSOR
Sponsor
Dan Durham (Rick Mosher)
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BACKGROUND
Background
Piedmont Land Conservancy (PLC) is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization whose goal is to preserve natural areas and open spaces in the Piedmont area of North Carolina. They plan to purchase the Bandera Farms property as part of a plan to make future construction of the Piedmont Greenway possible in collaboration with local governments. The Piedmont Greenway is a proposed 19-mile greenway connecting Greensboro to Winston-Salem through Summerfield, Oak Ridge, Triad Park, and Kernersville. Bandera Farms is a 113-acre property located at 5366 Bunch Road in Summerfield. The PLC was recently awarded an Environmental Enhancement Grant (EEG) in the amount of $121,250 that will be used towards purchase of the property and is requesting contributions from various local governments for the purchase of Bandera Farms as indicated below:
• Guilford County, $165,000
• City of Greensboro, $165,000
• Town of Summerfield, $82,500
• Town of Oak Ridge, $41,250
PLC has a contract to purchase the property pending receipt of the above contributions and plans to close by November 30, 2020. Guilford County will receive two easements on the Bandera Farms property as part of the purchase. A Watershed Protection Easement will preserve a buffer of 325 feet for Reedy Fork Creek and a Greenway Trail Easement will permit Guilford County to construct a section of the Piedmont Greenway at some point in the future. This is described in detail on the attached Memorandum of Understanding and the Open Space Easement and Right of Way documents.
Approval of these two documents and $165,000 in Open Space funding to purchase the easements from PLC are requested. The use of Open Space funding for this purpose and in the amount indicated is also recommended by the Parks Advisory Board. A total of $464,420 is available in the Open Space Acquisition capital project ordinance. Approval of the documents does not obligate the County to construct the Piedmont Greenway or maintain any portion of the property. Future property acquisitions are also required to establish the greenway along its entire proposed route.
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BUDGET IMPACT
Budget Impact
Funding will come from the existing Open Space Acquisition Capital Project Ordinance. NO ADDITIONAL COUNTY FUNDS REQUIRED
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REQUESTED ACTION
Requested Action
Approval of the Memorandum of Understanding and Open Space Easement and Right of Way documents, in substantial form, and authorization of staff to take all reasonable actions to finalize and execute said documents; and approval for use of $165,000 in Open Space capital project funds to purchase the easements from Piedmont Land Conservancy as part of their acquisition of the Bandera Farms property.
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