Sandoval County commissioners voted unanimously to buy two oil-and-gas exploration leases on state trust land that overlap parcels the county hopes to develop for economic projects.

The action, approved by roll call late in the meeting, directs the county to purchase exploration leases on Section 36 and Section 32 from a Roswell-based firm that holds the leases and then abandon those leases so the county’s negotiated economic-development leases can proceed.

Rob Burpo, of First American Financial Advisors, told commissioners the county discovered the exploration leases in meetings with the State Land Office on Sept. 29 and subsequently negotiated to buy them. “To date, they have paid about $18,300 in lease payments to the state for Section 36 and another $18,300 for Section 32,” Burpo said. He said the firm agreed to sell each of the two leases on Section 36 for $50,000 and each on Section 32 for $50,000. “If you approve these resolutions this evening, the county will purchase the leases with the assistance of the State Land Office,” Burpo said.

Burpo described the purchase as a cash-management action: county staff and the finance director said the money will return to the county treasury on June 1 when the county refinances an existing bond and other projects, limiting long-term budget impact.

Commissioners asked for assurance the price would not increase if the county waited. “The firm has been ... very comfortable with this price,” Burpo said, adding that the leases originally issued in April 2018 included a five-year term with an automatic five-year extension, putting the current expiration at April 1, 2028.

The county approved Resolution 10-8-25-11A (Section 36) and 10-8-25-11B (Section 32) by voice or roll-call vote. The transcript shows Commissioners Joshua Jones, Catherine A. Brook, Commissioner Hirt, and Chair Michael Meade voting yes on each measure.

County staff said the purchases will remove exploration rights that otherwise could interfere with the county’s planned “Project Ranger” development and related negotiations with the State Land Office.

The commission did not discuss alternative approaches or a competitive purchase process during the public portion of the item. Burpo said county negotiators and the finance director had identified funds available for the purchases and that the State Land Office will help prepare the documents once the board approved the resolutions.

The board moved on after approving the two resolutions; staff did not set a separate implementation timeline in the public discussion.