County explores Cooper Road surplus and parcel swap to expand dredge management capacity

Deputy Director of Public Works Adam Corey presented a work-session proposal to declare a 16.93-acre parcel on Cooper Road surplus and swap it for a nearby 24-acre parcel in Eden that could be renovated as an upland site for dredge material management. Corey said rehabilitation and access work would be required but that the Eden parcel is roughly 1.2 miles from Sharps Point and could reduce truck-haul distances or be served by a pumped slurry pipeline in coordination with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

"This is a win-win: we get a larger property for a swap, we avoid intensive rehabilitation of the Cooper Road site, and the Corps has indicated it could support slurry discharge if the easements and permitting are in place," Corey said. Staff said deeded 30-foot easements and adjacent borrow pits make the site operationally sensible, and they noted an appraised-value gap (county parcel appraised at ~$85,000; the Eden parcel appraised at ~$195,000) that the county would categorize as a donation difference in the swap paperwork rather than a cash payment.

Council supported moving forward and the administration set a public hearing for the surplus/exchange at the next legislative session (June 2 at 6 p.m.) so planning commission review and resolution action could follow quickly. Councilmembers asked for further cost estimates for site improvements (road upgrades, permitting) and potential piping costs; staff committed to follow-up feasibility and cost evaluations before settlement.