>La Grande Observer | Union and Wallowa Counties' News Leader

Though Union County is going ahead with plans to buy 3,700 acres of land on Mount Emily and manage it for natural resources and recreation, it won’t go into debt to do it.

The three-member board of commissioners voted unanimously Monday to pursue the purchase of the land from Forest Capital Partners under an arrangement called Option 2.

If successful, the county will retain ownership of the land for the proposed Mount Emily Recreation Area, but will own only one-third of the timber.

The county would, however, have the option of buying one or more of the timber units in the future.

“To me, I’d go with Option 2 and work hard to get more funding to buy the timber,” Commissioner Steve McClure said before the vote.

Earlier this year, the state Parks and Recreation Department’s ATV program approved a $4.4 million grant to the county for the purchase. That money, together with a $250,000 Union Pacific Railroad mitigation grant, would cover  the asking price under Option Two.

While the two grants have been tentatively approved, final details on grant terms and conditions are still being worked out, County Planner Hanley Jenkins cautioned the board Monday.

“The funding is there. It’s been approved. We just have to meet the conditions,” he said.

The county had planned to pursue purchase under Option 1, which would have included the land and all the timber, at an amended price of $7.8 million.

However, the county did not get the state Local Government Program grant it applied for this year. Other funding requests, including a low-interest loan, called a program related investment, from the Meyer Trust were turned down as well.

With a Nov. 1 purchase deadline approaching, the board was faced with the prospect of borrowing $3.4 million, at an interest rate of  7.6 percent, in order to proceed under Option 1.

That is a risk none of the commissioners are willing to take, especially in the midst of a nationwide slump in the housing industry.

“If we take the loan, we’d have to harvest timber when the market is down,” said Commissioner Steve McClure. “It would be very difficult to service the loan.”

Commissioners Nellie Hibbert and Colleen MacLeod agreed.

“My commitment was that we would never jeopardize the general fund, and that we manage it for recreation and resource use,” Hibbert said.

MacLeod expressed continued support for the recreation area, even though the county is unable to proceed under the first option.

“I think it’s important we take the steps to provide off-road opportunities for our residents and visitors,” she said.