The Pierce County unanimously voted to extend the deadline to complete real estate transactions related to the 2019 Conservation Futures project list at its meeting last week. The deadline has been moved back to Dec. 31 from June 30.
Established in 1991, the Conservation Futures program preserves open space, wetlands, wildlife habitat, timber land and agricultural lands in Pierce County. The goal of the program is to ensure a high quality of life as the population grows and the area develops.
The COVID-19 pandemic interrupted the recommended acquisition of 11 properties approved three years ago.
Katherine Brooks of Pierce County Parks told the council that eight of the 11 properties have been closed on.
“Again, this is simply extending projects that were already approved by the council,” Council Chair Derek Young explained. “The idea here is to give more time to staff to try to close on the properties that we’re close on. It won’t always work out. If it doesn’t work out for the property owners, I mean that’s sometimes the case. In other cases, there’s just obstacles that get in the way … and this is a program that is already approved, and we’re now actually moving on to the next list, so the attempt here is to not waste all that work and hopefully close on properties we’ve prioritized previously.”
In other business, the council passed a resolution recognizing Elections Manager Mike Rooney for 33 years of exemplary service to the county.
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