Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Environmental Finance topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Highway committee adopts credit-sale policy for mitigation bank, plans to retain credits for county projects
Summary
Portage County highway staff presented and the committee approved a draft policy for selling credits from a local stream and wetland mitigation bank, with proceeds intended to support highway special revenue projects and an eventual public-access policy to be developed after the monitoring period.
The Portage County Highway Committee voted to adopt a credit-sale policy for the Pulver River stream and wetland mitigation bank after staff described how pricing and proceeds would be managed.
Staff told the committee the policy lays out who would set sale prices and how credits would be offered for county and developer use. The staff member said the county would “retain credits for our own use, as for county highway departments” and recommended the committee annually approve market pricing as part of the budget process. The memo reviewed comparable approaches used by Cheboygan, Wood and Shawano counties.
The presentation included a five-year maintenance and monitoring cost estimate and a total project cost figure given as about $2,600,000. Staff said that on conservative price assumptions the county expects to see a surplus from credit sales over time and that any excess revenues would go to the highway department special revenue fund for bridge and road projects; any deficit would come from fund balance.
Committee members raised long-term stewardship questions. Staff said a public access and use policy would be brought to the committee for input before access beyond escorted tours is permitted. The chair called for the vote and, hearing no opposition, the motion to adopt the credit-sale policy passed.
The committee directed staff to return final pricing ranges to the highway committee for annual approval and to coordinate with the finance committee and county board on budget treatment and the public-access policy during the maintenance period.
