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Board hears early discussion of Trust for Public Lands grant to acquire Hogsback parcel; some commissioners express concerns
Summary
Trust for Public Lands will seek a grant to acquire a section of Hogsback on the county's behalf; no offer has been accepted and staff said any acquisition would likely be no cost to the county but could reduce property tax revenue by roughly $1,000 annually. Some commissioners raised land-ownership and tax concerns.
County staff and commissioners discussed a Trust for Public Lands (TPL) proposal in which TPL would apply for a grant to acquire a section of Hogsback on behalf of Klamath County or another arrangement to conserve the land.
Jeremy from the grants department briefed commissioners that TPL expected to apply for a grant "on Klamath County's behalf" to purchase a portion of Hogsback. One commissioner said the county had no funding mechanism yet for a related Spence Mountain project and expressed opposition to taking more property off the tax rolls.
Staff and commissioners described the proposal as conceptual: an offer had not yet been accepted by the private owner. A county staff member said a conceptual estimate of lost tax revenue if the county took title was "about a thousand dollars a year," and another commissioner said the proposal could likely be arranged without making the land public if alternative private-ownership solutions are found.
Commissioners raised practical considerations including recreational access, first-responder access and the benefits of trail and ingress/egress improvements even if the land remained privately owned but managed for public access. One commissioner said the property is already used frequently and that public use creates search-and-rescue and injury incidents.
Staff said TPL had asked grants staff for assistance with some application questions and that any formal county commitment would come back to the board for approval. "In Jeremy's email, he did say, 'We'll need to work with the BOCC for approval,'" a county staff member said.
No board vote or formal commitment was recorded at the meeting; staff said they would continue discussions and seek alternatives that might keep the land in private ownership while achieving public-access goals.
