City of Oak Harbor looks at buying, selling land

The city of Oak Harbor has been in the real estate business lately.

The city recently purchased a couple of side-by-side parcels, is moving forward with selling a large tract of land and is in negotiations to buy property for a regional park.

Last week, city council members came out of executive session during their regular meeting and voted to purchase property along Goldie Road for $160,000.

The city is planning on building a stormwater conveyance system and flow control on the property.

The project will also provide some treatment to the water before it enters a wetland on East Street, according to city documents.

“There have been issues in that area with stormwater,” City Administrator Blaine Oborn said, “and there’s potential for development in that area.”

The two-year project is scheduled to begin in 2019 and is estimated to cost $750,000.

During a recent workshop, council members and staff discussed the possibility of selling two parcels on Sleeper Road that the city has own since 1966. The property was purchased in hopes it would provide the city an inexpensive source of gravel.

The council decided to log the 39-acre property in 2015 and made more than $200,000.

A 2016 appraisal pegged the value of the property at $310,000.

Public Works Director Cathy Rosen said the land contains a lot of sand, but not as much gravel as hoped.

The appraisal states that the land has potential uses after the gravel is extracted. It could be the site of low-density, single-family homes or a commercial venture if the zoning is changed, the documents states.

The impetus for looking at the property is that the city was recently approached by an individual interested in possibly purchasing it, Oborn said.

Council members discussed alternatives to selling the property, but ultimately appeared to informally agree to sell it.

Oborn explained that the property will have to be listed as surplus before it can be sold.

He said a resolution declaring the property surplus will be brought forward in the next couple of council meetings.

Council members previously discussed using revenues from the sale of the property to purchase property elsewhere for a regional ballpark.

Oborn said that’s still a possibility.

The city is also in negotiations to possibly buy 75 acres at the end of Gun Club Road, he said.