By VICKI URBANIK

Despite indications to the contrary, the state went ahead with a public auction last month that included a 65-acre former prison farm in Pine Township long eyed by Porter County park officials.

But the good news for the county park department is that it ended up with the land anyway.

Porter County Park Board Attorney Dave Hollenbeck announced at Thursday’s meeting that the park department has purchased the West Farm for a total price of $214,500 following the October 14 state auction.

Although he and other officials were led to believe that the state planned to pull the property from the auction block after Porter County expressed interest in the land, that didn’t occur. But the Indiana Department of Administration did give the county parks the right of first refusal. The auction went on, two parties bid on the property, and the county parks exercised its right to pay the winning bid.

Hollenbeck said the closing will likely take place in 10 days to two weeks. The park department will pay for the land with one lump payment out of its share of the County Economic Development Income Tax. The purchase price, which includes auction expenses, translates to $3,300 per acre.

“That’s an exciting acquisition for us,” Hollenbeck said.

About three years ago, county park officials tried to acquire the West Farm from the state, but the Department of Corrections insisted the land was needed to grow food for state prisoners and to participate in a food drive serving the poor. But then this year, the state declared the land surplus property and put the land on the auction block.

County officials said they didn’t know about the auction, but state officials said they emailed the county about the matter.

West Farm is located at C.R. 1500N and the Porter-LaPorte County Line Road and includes a portion of the Little Calumet River.

The West Farm acquisition comes at a time when the county park board continues to negotiate on several other park parcels. Its $400,000-a-year allocation from CEDIT is specifically for land acquisition and park capital projects.

Hollenbeck said he expects to have two appraisals by the park board’s December meeting on another Pine Township property, a 25-acre arboretum south of U.S. 20 on East Furness Road, which the board agreed to pursue last month. In addition, Hollenbeck said he has one appraisal on property across the street from Sunset Hill Farm County Park.

“We continue to make progress, and we continue to spend the county’s money, which is what we were told to do,” Hollenbeck said.

Speaking from the audience, former park board member Charlotte Read praised the West Farm acquisition and urged the park board to continue purchasing land for future parks. “We really need something at the south end of the county,” she said.

County Park Superintendent Ed Melendez said he has been working with consultants on an updated county parks master plan, which will include plans for West Farm, the Pine Township arboretum as well as the former County Home property.

In other matters Thursday, the park board approved a part of its agreement with the Northern Indiana Historical Power Association that outlines the projects that NIHPA will do at Sunset Hill Farm. The agreement calls for NIHPA to use a gravel road at Ridgeway Drive and Meridian Road for its larger vehicles to access the park for its annual festival, rather than using the park’s main entrance. The change was made due to damage that occurred during this year’s NIHPA festival from vehicles that tore up the park’s grassy area.

Also Thursday, Park Naturalist JoAnne Thompson said the outdoor naturalist program this fall at Sunset Hill served 2,630 students and 321 adults. The naturalists are now busy with their Parks-to-School program, with 39 sessions booked so far, involving 107 classrooms and an estimated 2,800 participants.

Also, Special Events Coordinator Judy Rooney-Davis said plans are well underway for this year’s Holiday Lights Festival, which will kick off on Nov. 18 at Sunset Hill.

Posted 11/3/2006