By James Master, Managing Editor The Pilot News
The Town of Argos leases out available farmland that the is owned by the town every year. However, that changed during the prior Argos Town Council meeting.
“We’re down to 20 acres guys, it’s kind of what I call landlocked,” said Town Attorney Derek Jones. “At this point in time, the only real access to this 20 acres is to come through the Deerfield Meadows Subdivision, which nobody really wants to have happen because of infrastructure going in.”
Ground for Deerfield Meadows Subdivision was broken in November last year. It will be the home to 32 single family homes. Jones reminded the council that they do have an easement along the west boundary of a property owned by Windmill Holdings LLC.
“So, we can access that, but that’s really the only feasible way to do that without running into issues and problems,” he said.
The owner of Windmill Holdings was contacted and stated he was okay with the town leasing the 20 acres and allowing access on the easement. Jones stated that last year, the winning bid for the farmland was $142 an acre and that the town wasn’t “looking at tons of money.”
He said that if the town wasn’t going to lease the land, then the town would have to maintain it.
Council Vice-President Shawn Harley suggested that the area be mowed down and seeded with some type of grass to make it a greenspace until something in the future could be figured out for it. After some discussion, a motion was made by Council Member George Null to not put the 20 acres up for farming bids and to make it into greenspace for the present. The motion was passed unanimously.
