York County adopts omnibus agenda including purchase of 138-acre agricultural easement and consent for two tax‑exempt farm loans

The York County Board of Commissioners on June 3 approved an omnibus consent agenda that included a county-funded agricultural conservation easement and the Industrial Development Authority's request to consent to tax-exempt financing for two family farmers.

Eric Naylor, speaking on behalf of the York County Agricultural Land Preservation Board, described the easement application as a single tract of 138.59 acres in Chanceford Township. He said 89% of the soils on the farm fall within capability classes 1 through 4, about 60% of the parcel is currently available for production, and the property ranked 17th of 50 applications in the county's 2024 ranking cycle. Naylor said the landowners accepted 93.8% of the easement value and that incidental closing costs of $6,600 will be reimbursed by the Commonwealth. He gave a total county cost today of $491,728.32 for the purchase and reimbursable incidentals.

A commissioner asked whether the motion should explicitly include the $6,600 incidental costs. The county solicitor said the motion language on the agenda was acceptable because the incidental costs are reimbursable by the Commonwealth and do not change the county's net exposure in practice.

Separately, Kennetha Hansen of the York County Economic Alliance, speaking also for the York County Industrial Development Authority, requested the board's consent for the authority to issue tax-exempt conduit debt on behalf of two family farm borrowers purchasing properties in Peach Bottom and North Hopewell townships. Hansen explained that the conduit financing is private sector debt that does not increase the county's indebtedness and that the county's consent is a federal requirement tied to the authority's creation.

The board approved the motion to adopt items 1 through 45 by voice vote, carrying the easement purchase and the consent for the two tax-exempt financings as part of the omnibus package. The agenda did not record roll-call tallies or named individual votes; actions were approved by voice vote.

What happens next: The preservation board will proceed with closing consistent with the approved easement terms and Commonwealth reimbursement procedures. The Industrial Development Authority will pursue its conduit financings subject to its underwriting and federal tax guidelines.

Notes: The easement purchase amount line in Eric Naylor's spoken remarks contained a truncated figure in the transcript; the agenda and Naylor's statement did consistently show a $491,728.32 total cost including reimbursable incidentals. The specific per-acre valuation or the precise non-reimbursable purchase figure was not fully legible in the transcript and therefore is recorded here as not specified beyond the total shown.