The East Plum Creek Trail connection between The Meadows and Downtown should be completed by summer 2009 if plans proceed on schedule.

A unanimous vote of Town Council Tuesday set in motion steps that can allow the Town to acquire the land required to complete the ¾ miles of trail needed to bridge the two segments.

The Town for years has been negotiating with the two owners of the land but has been unsuccessful in securing trail easements.

With Council's approval, staff will submit a fair-market offer for the easements - under $25,000 at the latest estimate, as the property is within the 100-year floodplain and the federally protected Preble's meadow jumping mouse habitat and has limited development potential.

If the offer is rejected, staff will bring forward an ordinance requesting Council to authorize condemnation so the trail can be completed.

"It's one of the most widely requested trails and connects one of our biggest developments in Town with the downtown," Hanna told Council. "This is a critical connection."

The segment of the trail south of Meadows Parkway currently is under construction.
That portion is 75 percent complete and is expected to be finished within 30 days.

Also on Tuesday, Council gave staff the go ahead to pursue the potential purchase of property adjacent to the trail that could be used for open space, parks and other purposes.

A Town-hired appraiser placed the value of the 105-acre property at $1.97 million. The owners' appraiser, however, values the property at $5.25 million. The difference is due to the fact that the owners' appraiser did not take the protected mouse habitat into consideration and assumed water and sewer would be provided by the Town although the land is not currently annexed, according to a memo from Parks and Recreation Director Rob Hanna to Council.

The owners are seeking about $3 million for the property, Hanna's memo says. It could be funded using conservation trust funds, state trails grants and Douglas County open space shareback funds, among other sources.

The property is attractive to the Town because it has high open space values, including wildlife habitat and passages and dense stands of vegetation. About 50 acres of the property is suitable for development and even could be the future home of needed public facilities. In the interim, that property could serve as a dog park, paintball course or something of the like, Hanna's memo says.

"This property, combined with existing and currently zoned but not-yet-dedicated open space property, results in over 575 acres of contiguous open space through the center of Town, preserving a riparian corridor and wildlife habitat which could provide for a very unique experience to the citizens of our community," Hanna's memo says.

Council will discuss negotiation strategies for the property in executive session at a later date.

Finally, Council on Tuesday authorized to staff to prepare a request for proposals for the sale or trade of a 2.88-acre, Town-owned open space parcel between Red Robin and Walgreens in Metzler Ranch.

Developers have expressed interest in the property, which has limited open space value, Hanna said. The Town could rezone the land, sell it and use the money to buy higher-value open space elsewhere in Town.

With Council's approval, staff will work to determine the appropriate zoning and use for the site and prepare a request for proposals to be released in October. The land's fate could be decided by the year's end.

The Town will reserve the right to reject any and all offers if the proposals are not acceptable.