Elliott farm still in line for ag preservation
By PAT FRIDGEN Echo Pilot

Though Antrim Township denied funding to put Ron Elliott's 95 acres into Franklin County's Ag Preservation program, the county still wants the land in the program.

Sherri Clayton from the county's Planning Commission said they are in the process of placing an easement on the Worleytown Road farm. They will use state and county funds, but will not be using the township funds they anticipated receiving.

Clayton included the $300,000 Antrim had put aside for Ag Preservation in 2007 when she set her budget for the year. Since the supervisors decided Aug. 28 to spend only $200,000 on two other farms, she was caught off guard. Therefore, Elliott's farm will still be purchased, but perhaps in 2008.

To her knowledge, there was not a large outcropping of limestone on the property, which was a concern of one of the supervisors. The board also disagreed on the merits of the stream corridor on the farm.

Clayton said it had adequate soil and was a viable farm, currently with over half in crops and the rest pasture.

"I don't understand the problem there," she said of the township's decision not to participate in purchasing that farm. "It will be preserved but Antrim Township will not be a partner."

Antrim authorized the release of funds toward easement purchases of Gareth Myers' farm on Hollowell Church Road and Robert Rebuck's farm on Fort Stouffer Road.

Franklin County, which handles the administration of the program, is a model for the entire state, Clayton said. She considered a name on a title of value to the contributing municipality, and now Antrim cannot claim Elliott's farm when it reports on its easements.

The purpose of the Agricultural Land Preservation Program is to save farmland from development. Owners sell their rights to change the land from agriculture or open space to another purpose. Local properties are eligible based on Antrim Township planning initiatives, value of the soil, conservation practices and environmental factors.