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Commission requests proof of willing sellers before supporting National Park Service land acquisitions
Summary
Representatives from the National Park Service sought county acknowledgment for two proposed land acquisitions; commissioners asked for written willing‑seller documentation and said the county will not forfeit local tax revenue without compensation.
A National Park Service (NPS) representative, Andrew Steele, briefed the commission on two proposed property transfers in Fayette County: a 10‑acre parcel with an existing parking lot near the Endless Wall Trail and a separate 148‑acre forested tract near the confluence of the Gauley and Meadow rivers.
Steele said the NPS’s acquisitions would preserve forested land and potentially provide trail connections, parking expansion and interpretive signage near historic sites. Commissioners pressed the NPS for written documentation that each property is a willing sale and asked whether the federal government would compensate the county for any lost property tax revenue. The NPS representative said the purchases involve willing sellers for at least some parcels but that the federal government does not pay county tax revenue on acquired parcels.
Because the commission did not find a willing‑seller statement in the meeting packet, commissioners declined to endorse the proposed transfers at the meeting and asked NPS staff to return with clear seller documentation and additional materials. The NPS agreed to follow up and to meet with county administration for further discussions.
Ending: The commission requested willing‑seller letters and additional documentation; no county endorsement or support letter for acquisition was approved during the meeting.
