Brushies watershed protection sought
Source: Wilkes Journal-Patriot, by Charles S. Williams
July 25, 2008
Wilkesboro councilmen were asked Monday afternoon to consider selling development rights, through a conservation easement, for the town’s 300-acre tract on the Brushy Mountains which formerly served as the town’s watershed. If such an agreement could be reached, Blue Ridge Rural Land Trust (BRRLT) officials could help to secure the funding for the easement from the Clean Water Management Trust Fund (CWMTF), and the easement would be held by the state.
Sonny Church, a Wilkesboro resident, and Joe Potts, representing BRRLT, made an informal presentation on the idea to council members during the July work session at town hall. No action was taken as the discussion was preliminary and there is no offer on the table at this time from the BRRLT.
Church and Potts told the board members that, in most cases, the purchase of the development rights (in order to preserve the property) would be for an amount equal to 40 to 60 percent of the appraised value of the land. Wilkesboro officials are currently awaiting the results of the appraisal of the watershed acreage. It was recently reported that the timber on the property is valued at $406,000.
If an agreement was reached, the town would retain ownership of the 300-acre tract, and the land would be protected from commercial or high-density residential development. Selective timbering would be allowed, if the town used best management practices. Wilkesboro could develop a park, trails, campsites and small buildings or shelters, but homes would not be permitted.
When CWMTF funds are used to purchase an easement, fund officials generally insist upon a 300-foot buffer strip along the streams in which only light recreation is allowed, with forestry allowed outside this area.
The 300-acre tract was used for many years as the town’s watershed and is still protected under state watershed laws. Council members have discussed the possibility, in recent meetings, of harvesting part of the timber on the land through select cutting.
“My vision has always been to protect the forest,” said Councilman Jim Hartley. “I never saw any reason to do anything else. Of course if someone offered the town big bucks for the land, that might be a different matter.”
Church noted that BRRLT would be the conduit through which the town could get land conservation easement money.
“If you could get money from a grant to protect the land and still get income from select cutting, you would have the best of both worlds,” Church commented.
Town Manager Ken Noland added, “this wouldn’t be unlike selling the land, but you would still control the property. If someone was offering a lot of money, this might be a valuable public relations tool to get money while conserving the property.”
Noland said that the town was considering several options for the property, but nothing would be done until the appraisal has been submitted.
“We’re considering several options for the property, including the development of a timber management plan,” he said.
“We certainly don’t have to make a decision now,” said Mayor Mike Inscore. “We need to look at all of the options and consider the pros and cons.”
“If we could get 40 to 60 percent of the appraised value,” said Noland, “it could be a million dollars or more.”
Potts told the group, “you own the watershed, from ridge to ridge, so you can control the water quality. The land is pristine. Even if it is outside the town’s extra-territorial jurisdiction, you have a lot of value there. You can use it as a farm and harvest the timber while protecting it from development.”
Noland said, “it’s beautiful country. The town could develop this as a park.”
Church commented that the watershed “could still be used by the town, if there was ever a need. Who knows what the water situation will be in the future.”
Vulcan Materials is leasing a 42-acre portion of the watershed property in order to mine a small peak known as Gobbler’s Knob. The company has already mined the half of the mountain on its property. Noland said that water from that portion of the property flows back onto the Vulcan quarry and cannot be redirected into the town watershed.
Street work
Noland told the councilmen that the town currently has $317,000 in Powell Bill reserves to be used for road repairs and paving. He said projects for this summer include the repaving of Woodland Boulevard from Main Street to Poplar Street, patching work on Hill Street, and paving on Westover Drive, Spring Street and Maple Street.
Tyler Beardsley, who is working this summer as an intern with the town, briefed the council members on the town’s comprehensive emergency management plan. The plan is a general outline on procedures to follow in the event of a major emergency such as a hurricane or severe winter storm.
Beardsley told the councilmen that residents could be told on pending dangers through the media, or by dispatching police through neighborhoods and broadcasting warnings on the squad car’s speaker system. The plan includes protocol for establishing command posts and shelters.
In the event of an emergency, he said, the number one priority for the town’s water treatment plant would be to provide water for fire protection. In order to have sufficient pressure, water tanks in the town would have to be at least half full. If water production was limited, the town may have to ask Tyson Foods and other major water users to cut back their usage.
Closed session
At the end of the regular session, the council went into an executive session to discuss personnel. At the end of the session, the council members voted to give Noland a 2.5 percent merit increase, raising his annual salary to $89,117. All town employees were eligible for 2.5 percent merit increases based upon their annual review. The council members conducted a performance review of Noland during the past month.
The council also approved a rate increase of $7 per hour, to $132 per hour, for Town Attorney Bill Gray. Though the annual amount paid for legal services increases for special circumstances (such as the recent negotiations on the Vulcan Materials lease), the average annual payments to the town attorney are approixamtely $40,000.
The next meeting of the town council will be the regular monthly meeting on Monday, Aug. 4.
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