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Erie County reviews tentative lease to Troyer Growers; council seeks clearer renewal language
Summary
At a March 5 finance meeting, the county reviewed a tentative lease with Troyer Growers for four parcels (about 175 tillable acres) after a competitive bid (roughly $38,600/year). Council members asked staff to add language requiring rent renegotiation after the initial five-year term before a final approval.
Erie County's finance committee on March 5 reviewed a tentative lease agreement that would let Troyer Growers Inc. farm four county parcels, including about 175 tillable acres, under a multi‑year arrangement.
The item, read by the chair as a resolution, drew questions from council members after staff said the award followed a competitive bid process. "38,600, I believe, was what it was a year," one staff member said when describing the winning proposal; that speaker also said Troyer expects to plant as many as 5,000,000 pounds of potatoes on the property in the first year.
The most substantial point of contention involved renewal language: a staff reviewer said the draft provides an initial five‑year term with options to renew in one‑year increments but does not explicitly require rent renegotiation after the first five years. A staff member advising the committee urged a contractual fix: "I think that if there's options to renew, that they should include the negotiation of the rent 5 years down the road," the advisor said, recommending that the committee or administration draft clearer language.
Committee members and staff agreed to return the lease with clarified terms so the council can consider it in a subsequent reading. The resolution was presented as a tentative agreement and requires at least one more reading before final action was recorded in the transcript.
Next steps: staff will draft specific language on rent renegotiation and renewal mechanics and present it for the committee's next meeting; no final vote on the lease appeared in the March 5 record.
