Green River Update

Since our meeting with Kevin Carter a lot has happened. I don’t know that we have made progress; I’d like to think that we have but, the picture is definitely clearing up. The bottom line is we have two government agencies that really don’t like each other and have done a poor job of communicating back and forth over the years. Getting them both on the same page for now is what needs to happen.

On Monday we met with DWR. They have expressed their interest in this parcel on numerous occasions to SITLA, however they have valued the land based upon its grazing and wildlife potential. Those values equate to roughly $1000.00/acre. Obviously, SITLA isn’t marketing this property based upon these values. Consequently the Divisions offer has or was not acceptable.

The current offer from Flint Timber and Spinnerfall, although we don’t know what that is, is higher than the $1000.00/acre that the Division put on the table. The Division by mandate can only spend 10% above their own appraised value. Again this number falls significantly short of what is on the table.

Due to public pressure and some other issues SITLA would really like to do this deal with DWR. There are a number of factors that play into this, which are all positive. The biggest hold up is DWR’s valuation.

After our meeting on Monday the Division agreed to reevaluate their appraisal based upon the offer that is now before SITLA. It’s frustrating, however since no one but Flint Timber and Spinnerfall know what the present offer is. This is a unique piece of property. Should this hit the open market, who knows how much it could sell for?

Our time table is July 7 for a decision by SITLA on which way to go. They must take the current offer if a competing bid of some sort doesn’t materialize. The Division has an opportunity here, but it is complicated. They also have some partners who are willing to help finance the deal. Unfortunately at this juncture there are a lot of what if’s and maybe’s. Hopefully by next week there will be some clarifications and all these factors will fall into place to our benefit.

Worse case scenarios, if this should go through, are the complexities and complications of developing this property. For one, the Divisions attorneys have determined that the access road to SITLA’s land falls 400’ short of the property line. Even if the road enters their property, you can’t pave it, so how would you get material to the job site. There is the issue of historical artifacts that litter the property. Power is another problem. Most likely this development would have to be run off of generators. These are just some of the major stumbling blocks that may end up putting the kibosh on this project.

Keep the pressure on. Things are moving forward. Not at fast as we would like, but we remain optimistic. If you haven’t written letters, there are e-mail addresses in my previous Blog. I would add Flint Timber and Spinnerfall to your list as well. If either of these parties backs out at this stage of the game, there is not deal.