Monroe County approves $213,800 conservation easement sale for Robert W. Field

The Monroe County Board of Commissioners approved an agreement to purchase an agricultural conservation easement for Robert W. Field of Hamilton Township on April 1, approving a $213,800 sale to preserve roughly 22 acres of farmland.

Robert W. Field spoke during the meeting about his family’s long history on the property, saying, “I would like to tell you a little history about the farm,” and noting that “our family has been on this farm 96 years.” County staff described the planned easement as the latest in the county’s farmland‑preservation program and said the property is the 129th farm preserved in the county’s program history.

County staff explained funding for the purchase. Christine Minhardt told the board that the purchase will be financed with Act 13 legacy funds and Act 319 rolled‑back tax interest rather than through general county property tax revenue, saying the program “uses the interest” from those revenues to pay for easements.

At the end of the agenda the Planning Commission moved to approve the agreement of sale for an agricultural conservation easement for Robert W. Field in the amount of $213,800. The board also authorized water‑quality monitoring contracts tied to the project, including aquatic macroinvertebrate subsampling and water‑quality testing contracts for amounts listed on the agenda.

The board recorded the approvals by voice vote; the chair announced that the motions carried. No amendments to the agreement were recorded in the meeting transcript. Next steps noted in the meeting record include executing the sale documents and proceeding with the contracted laboratory sampling and water testing.

Provenance: discussion and owner remarks introducing the easement began when the agenda moved to "Monroe County Farmland Preservation"; formal approval of the agreement of sale and associated contracts occurred later in the meeting when the Planning Commission approved the sale.