Commissioners approve $3,000 land purchase in Gridley for county radio tower site

The Coffey County Board of Commissioners on Monday authorized purchase of one acre at 572 Emmer Road in Gridley from Buyer Management Group, LLP for $3,000 to serve as the site for one of three county radio communication towers.

Emergency Management Director Amber Presley presented the purchase agreement, which the county attorney reviewed as to form, and the board authorized the chairman to sign. Presley said the parcel contains an existing tower on a concrete pad that the county will remove and replace with a new freestanding pedestal-style tower and a fenced 75-by-75-foot equipment pad within the acre; the county budgeted site work and demolition, with an initial demolition/site-setup estimate of $10,000–$15,000 and a budgeted amount of $15,000 in the capital plan.

Commissioners asked whether the purchase was a conveyance of fee simple title versus an easement; Presley confirmed the county is purchasing the acre outright (not an easement). The purchase agreement contains language granting the buyer (county) perpetual ingress and egress across the seller’s property to access the site; commissioners asked staff to confirm the recorded exhibit at closing so the lot is not landlocked.

The county noted that closing would be handled through the title office and that the land purchase timeline allowed time for coordination with contractors and neighboring jurisdictions (the county’s team plans to coordinate related lease agreements for the other tower sites in Lebo and LeRoy). Commissioners voted to approve the purchase; staff will take the signed agreement to the title company and complete closing paperwork.