Central Arkansas Water has been given the go-ahead to purchase conservation rights to about 300 acres of property in the Lake Maumelle watershed.
The conservation easement to the property owned by Ray and Theresa Vogelpohl will cost $738,125 and will be paid over three years. Interest, appraisal and closing costs will add up to an additional $50,000.
The easement leaves ownership of the property with the Vogelpohls -- with certain restrictions on the land. Those include preventing future residential, commercial and industrial development on the property and limiting timber removal, construction, certain farming and other activities that could be detrimental to water quality.
"It's a voluntary contract that runs with the property and ensures that the property remains essentially in its current state in perpetuity, forever," said John Tynan, Central Arkansas Water's director of customer relations and public affairs.
The water agency's Board of Commissioners approved the purchase of the easement in a unanimous vote Thursday but not before several nearby property owners objected.
Lorie White, her husband, father-in-law and two neighbors who live in the Lake Maumelle watershed said it was unfair that the Vogelpohls get paid to forgo certain rights to their property while still having complete access, while other owners and residents in the watershed are subject to restrictive zoning regulations passed by the Pulaski County Quorum Court last year without compensation.
"None of the others are being given $750,000 to give up development rights," said White, who is president of the Pulaski County Property Owners Coalition. "Why is he the only one getting the option?"
After the board voted on the contract, watershed resident Barbara Penney stood up and looked at Ray Vogelpohl, who sat at the back of the meeting room, and said: "Merry Christmas, Ray. You just got another gift."
It was the third time the commission's chairman had to chastise the group of residents for what he categorized as inappropriate comments during the meeting.
Asked for comment afterwards on his neighbors' viewpoints, Vogelpohl said they don't fully understand what the conservation easement is.
"That becomes real clear," he said. "I'm still subject to the county zoning ordinance just like they are. A lot of what they're saying is because they don't really understand what a conservation easement is. What they need to do is sit down with [Central Arkansas Water] and see if it fits their situation."
White, Penney and others at Thursday's meeting also objected to the agency's agreement with Vogelpohl because he is the chairman of the county's Planning Commission, which oversees zoning issues. His term expires at the end of the month.
White called the agency's purchase of the easement "a payment for services rendered" since the county Planning Commission was responsible for pushing last year's watershed zoning regulations through to the Quorum Court for a vote.
Central Arkansas Water was in support of the regulations, which are meant to help protect water quality.
Vogelpohl objects to White's accusation, he said after Thursday's meeting, adding that he recused from voting on the watershed zoning ordinance. County Planning Director Van McClendon confirmed that Vogelpohl has been abstaining from discussions and votes involving the watershed protection issues.
Central Arkansas Water's chief executive officer, Graham Rich, told the board that the utility is open to purchasing easements on other property in the watershed.
Tynan said he has spoken with two other property owners. After Vogelpohl's property is put under agreement, Central Arkansas Water will either have ownership or easement rights on all but 0.8 miles of land along the Maumelle River up to the Perry County line, Tynan said.
"This is part of a systematic effort to acquire property moving westward along the Maumelle River as the major tributary to Lake Maumelle," he said.
The lake is the main water source for the utility, which provides water to 400,000 customers.
Commissioner Marie-Bernarde Miller noted that just because other property owners in the watershed are willing to sell easements to the utility, doesn't mean their property fits with the utility's priorities.
Tynan confirmed and said, "Is it economical to put an easement on a 2-acre piece of property? We have to weigh the time, energy and resources it would take as well as the conservation benefit," he said.
Central Arkansas Water customers pay a 45 cent watershed protection fee per monthly bill that generates about $1 million per year for the utility's conservation efforts in the area. Those funds will be used to pay for the Vogelpohl easement.
Kathleen Oleson with the Women Voters of Pulaski County, who was involved on the watershed zoning task force that negotiated the county regulations last year, said the water agency's purchase of the easement is positive.
"This agreement is significant step forward in the protection of our main body of water in our drinking, and that's important for the entire community to know," she said.
Metro on 01/09/2015