An audit of how Clark County manages its Legacy Lands program found a few examples of sloppiness, county commissioners were told last week.
But overall, Clark County Auditor Greg Kimsey said, he found that land had been acquired appropriately under the rules governing conservation areas and county purchasing policies.
The audit reviewed acquisitions approved in 1997 or 2004, before any of the current commissioners were on the board.
Commissioner Steve Stuart said last week that he and Commissioners Marc Boldt and Tom Mielke have been pushing to get a more complete sense of what land the county has purchased under the state-established Conservation Futures program.
He said they’ve been working with the Department of Environmental Services, which, along with the county’s Geographic Information Systems department, has been creating a database.
Stuart, the chairman of the board, said commissioners want to know more details about why the parcels were purchased and what restrictions apply so commissioners can figure out how they can be of the best use for the public.
Unexplained prices
One problem Kimsey cited was that, in instances where the county bought the land for more or less than market value, an explanation for the price wasn’t documented.
Kimsey said that out of 11 acquisitions, two were bought for the appraised value, five exceeded the appraised value and four were purchased for less than the appraised value.
“While we did find some explanations regarding price difference on staff reports going to the Board, we did not find the level of detail anticipated,” Kimsey wrote in his report.
Kimsey also recommended formalizing acquisition policies and clarifying the need for real estate licensing for staff involved in land acquisitions.
He wrote in his report that the staff or the contracted consultants involved in the acquisitions did not have real estate licenses, and the county may be running afoul of state requirements in that regard.
The Legacy Lands program acquires land to be held as open space for public recreation, habitat and wildlife protection.
Clark County has nearly 80,000 acres of natural areas managed by public agencies; the major landowner is the Washington Department of Natural Resources. Clark County and Vancouver-Clark Parks and Recreation own more than 7,000 acres.
The 31 acquisitions reviewed include La Center Bottoms, Fallen Leaf Lake, Camp Currie, areas along the East Fork of the Lewis River and the Salmon Creek and Burnt Bridge Creek greenways.
Stephanie Rice: 360-735-4508 or stephanie.rice@columbian.com.
