The discussion over the fate of the Clark Historic Farm is in its eleventh hour, with the Grantsville City Council expected to vote on the sale of burial plots behind the farm’s buildings during its Wednesday meeting.
The city council rejected a proposal from the Friends of the Clark Farm non-profit at its July 1 meeting. Instead, the council extended its offer from June 18, which would offer the barn and other buildings, with the exception of the farmhouse, for $92,000 due July 30.
Laurie Hurst, founder of the Friends of the Clark Farm, said after the council rejected the nonprofit’s proposal on July 1, they were only given until noon on July 3 to provide $10,000 in non-refundable earnest money to agree to the city’s final offer.
The Friends of the Clark Farm paid the money under duress, Hurst said, with the understanding the conversation on the proposal would continue.
“We felt our options were either to use that money, which people have given and contributed to the farm, either to further our purposes or give the city an excuse that they tried and we failed,” Hurst said.
Councilman Mike Johnson said the proposal is the city’s final offer but there is room for further discussion.
“I think there will be further negotiations,” he said.
The proposed purchase parcel, including the buildings, would be only about 2.2 acres. The nonprofit’s initial offer in March was for a 23-acre parcel that would cost about $850,000 and include the house and two 10-acre fields.
Despite its agreement to purchase the smaller lot, Hurst said the Friends of the Clark Farm are opposed to certain aspects of the city’s proposal.
Under the current offer, the city would be the sole beneficiary of the property. If the Friends of the Clark Farm were to dissolve or cease to operate, the city would receive the right, title and interest in the property.
Friends of the Clark Farm member Susan Johnsen said as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, the group should be allowed to give its assets to another 501(c)(3) organization with a similar philosophy if it were to dissolve.
The city also requested the non-profit never use the property for collateral to obtain funding for any reason. Hurst said the Friends of the Clark Farm would be unable to apply for low interest loans from the Utah Historical Society and similar organizations with that restriction.
The Friends of the Clark Farm agreed with a number of other provisions, including restrictions on the property as a historic site, and a utility easement to install sewer lines through the property.
Another sticking point, however, was an access easement that would run right through the center of the farm along a dirt road in the property.
Hurst said she feels the non-profit was pushed into attempting to purchase the farm after the city moved to turn the farm’s fields into a new cemetery. The group hoped the city would retain possession of the farm, but lease the buildings and fields to the non-profit, she said.
“Purchasing the farm is not our preferred option,” Hurst said. “We feel the city has given us no other choice.”
If the Friends of the Clark Farm didn’t have to purchase the property, the group would have more money to renovate the farm’s buildings. The nonprofit has received proposals of less than $200,000 for a major restoration to all of the buildings to open them fully, Hurst said.
Councilman Scott Stice said the condition of the buildings at the Clark Farm makes them a liability and if someone was injured at the farm, the burden of a subsequent claim would fall on the city. The city also doesn’t have the funds to provide the rehabilitation the buildings need, he said.
“It’s in the best interest of the city if someone buys the buildings,” Stice said.
Hurst and Johnsen also questioned the city’s urgency to begin selling burial plots at the proposed cemetery behind the farm. This past December, the city received a conditional use permit from the city’s planning and zoning commission to expand the cemetery’s eastern border by 3.1 acres.
The expansion to the cemetery would create 605 burial lots, or roughly 12 years of typical cemetery growth. The Friends of the Clark Farm offered to provide and lay sod on the expansion to prepare it for burial plots to delay putting the cemetery in.
Hurst said the city could expand into a 5.5-acre lot northeast of the farm buildings or 23 acres to the northwest. Either option would allow the city to expand the cemetery, with access from Clark Street or Palomino Ranch, she said.
The city council voted against beginning burial plot sales at its May 6 meeting by a 3 to 2 margin. Councilman Stice, Neil Critchlow and Mike Colson voted against selling plots while the city negotiated a deal with the Friends of the Clark Farm.
Johnsen said the busier events at the Clark Farm don’t mesh well with the atmosphere of a cemetery due to the number of people and noise.
“When we have 3,000 plus people coming for Baby Animal Days or the Honey Harvest Festival, it’s not quiet,” Johnsen said. “Plus there’s music and dancing and activities and lots and lots of children.”
The nonprofit wants land behind the farm for fields in order to make it a working, historic site and the fields could act as a buffer between the buildings and cemetery, Hurst said. A working, historic farm would also be an easier sell to potential funding sources, she said.
“In order for us to sell this to potential philanthropists or investors, we need to sell this as a historical farm,” Hurst said. “It’s not going to be successful just as a collection of old buildings.”
The farm is an important part of the heritage and legacy of Grantsville and the Friends of the Clark Farm have seen 17,000 visitors attend events at the farm since the group started two years ago, Hurst said. Johnsen said her favorite part has been meeting people that have participated in the activities.
“I’ve met so many people I wouldn’t have met,” Johnsen said. “I know these people simply because of the activities at the farm and we feel like we’re friends because of that.”
While the city council will decide the fate of burial plots behind the Clark Farm on Wednesday, Hurst said she’s optimistic the city will work with the Friends of the Clark Farm moving ahead.
“We feel like we’ve come through with our end of the bargain and we’re still very interested in making a compromise with them,” she said.
