Middleton council approves purchase agreement for Cemetery Road parcel

The Middleton City Council on Monday authorized the mayor to sign a purchase-and-sale agreement to acquire a parcel on Cemetery Road that the city plans to use to expand a recycled water program.

Douglas, meeting counsel, told the council the city will pay a set price derived from the city appraisal — "there's a set purchase price of $7,000 per acre," and that closing is targeted for March 15, with a 30-day contract extension available if annexation and lot-split work take longer. "Closing is targeted for March 15th," Douglas said.

The parcel being purchased is currently part of a larger privately owned lot; the seller (referred to in the agreement as the Patricks) must cooperate to complete a boundary adjustment and a simple one-lot split through the county before the city can accept a deed. Douglas said the city will undertake the annexation and lot-split process and expects the owners to "reasonably cooperate" in the process.

Councilman Trishansen asked about costs to bring treated water to the parcel and whether access would require additional permitting. "Is there an additional expense required for access getting water from where the access point originates up to the property in addition to that?" Trishansen asked. Douglas responded that there will be no access through the remnant parcel and that the city will take access along the southern boundary. Jason, a staff member working on the city's recycled-water pilot, said the city does not plan to expand the current pilot onto this parcel in the near term. "We are unlikely to have a desire to put a treated effluent water on that water within the time frame of this purchase," Jason said, adding that a broader recycled-water plan is still in development.

Councilman O'Meara asked whether the entire property will be annexed. "Are you annexing the entire property into the city of Middleton or just what we're purchasing?" he asked. Douglas responded that the entire property will be annexed because it is currently a single parcel and a partial annexation is not feasible under the process described in the agreement.

Councilman Murray asked whether the parties had reached final agreement. "You said you reached the final agreement with the owners today. Is that what you said?" Murray asked. Douglas said the version presented is the one the city intends to recommend and that the sellers indicated they are also agreeable, but a signed final version by the other party was not yet on file.

The council approved the motion to authorize the mayor to sign the purchase-and-sale agreement on a roll call vote. The contract includes an earnest-money deposit to be held in the city counsel's trust account and contingency language allowing the city to cancel the contract and return the deposit if title issues or other problems are discovered during due diligence.

The city will proceed with annexation and the simple lot split through county zoning and will record a new lot before the city takes warranty deed for the purchased parcel. The action ties the acquisition to the city's ongoing recycled-water planning but does not itself authorize immediate use of treated effluent on the parcel.