BATES – The Bates park deal just got a little better for the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department.

Grant County Judge Mark Webb said last week that the county and the OPRD have agreed to close the deal for just enough money to cover the cost of the $400,000 note from Old West Federal Credit Union and any transaction costs – but nothing more.

Meanwhile, the board of the non-profit Bates Park and Museum Foundation, which holds the title to the land, has resigned and turned its responsibilities over to new leadership from the Bates community, which plans to transfer the title to the county. That paves the way for the former millsite, at the junction of Highway 7 and County Road 20, to be developed as a state park and campground.

The OPRD had offered to buy the property from Grant County for $450,000 or $500,000, depending on which party took on the task of removing a derelict dry kiln from the site.

After costs, the deal was expected to leave some money – estimates ranged from $10,000 to $40,000 – on the table. The Bates Foundation, under its previous board, had said some of the money should be used to repay the county for any hard costs accrued in connection with the park property and the rest to help fund projects at the new park, with the disbursement made through escrow.

Then-president John Bastian said that based on a poll of Bates community members who attended a recent meeting in Prairie City, the Foundation wanted to see the excess money go to a “friends of the park” project in support of the park.

Webb, however, said the OPRD would never have given funds to a private foundation, and an OPRD official confirmed that the agency wanted to work with the county.

Until last week, Webb contended that the county should receive any money left from the sale to compensate for its risk and work on the deal.

However, under the new deal, the surplus – and the dispute over it – disappears.

Despite his previous stand, Webb said he’s content with the new arrangement “because it gets the deal done.”

Cliff Houck, properties manager for the OPRD, said the agency appreciated the strong community support for the Bates project, but said parks officials want to deal with the county. They worked on the deal with Webb as the recognized leader for Grant County, he said.

“He’s been great for the State Parks to work with,” Houck said.

Houck said that OPRD needed to work with the county because it was a guarantor of the loan and because the two agencies will need to work together in the development of the park. The state will need permits and assistance with the project, as well as cooperation from county law enforcement and road crews, he noted.

He said the current deal – to cover the cost of the note plus any costs – is “a transaction that will work for both parties.”

Webb said the new arrangement resolves the conflict that had emerged, and he reiterated his earlier statements that the Bates group would not have received the financing to buy the land if the county had not guaranteed the loan.

According to county documents, the Foundation stepped up at a time when the county was seeking organizations or individuals to handle the earnest money for the deal and secure the property as a future park site. Minutes of the Nov. 22, 2006, County Court meeting noted that the board agreed to entertain offers from “private non-profits in hopes of facilitating a time extension for the option the county currently has on the Bates property.”

A county resolution from January 2007 noted that the Bates Foundation would “accept an assignment of the earnest money from Grant County; and in consideration thereof grant to Grant County the exclusive option to purchase the property from the foundation.”

The previous Foundation board said the option was intended only if the non-profit defaulted on the loan.

Bastian and the other board members, Dennis Reynolds and Helen Bogart, resigned their positions on March 12. Les Zaitz resigned earlier, on March 7.

Bastian said last week they had always intended that the Bates community take on the foundation. His board felt its job was done, with the expected sale to OPRD.

That board turned the reins over to Lana Abarr, a former resident of the old milltown. As acting president, she recruited two other former Bates residents – Leonard Cardwell and Jackie Rapp – to serve.

Last week the new board elected Rapp as president; Cardwell, secretary, and Abarr, treasurer.

A press release from the new board noted that there had been some tension and confusion for the public over the OPRD offers. It confirmed that the site appraisal of $450,000 was more than required to pay off the loan; however, it also said the difference was not intended for the foundation.

OPRD was willing to pay the amount “based not only on the appraisal, which they felt was generous, but also their desire to compensate Grant County for expenses the county has and will incur relative to this project,” the release said.

Rapp said the foundation is ready to move ahead with transferring title to the county, which will sell the land to OPRD so it can start planning the park development.

Abarr said the important thing for her is to move the project forward. She wants to get the title to the county so that the OPRD can buy the property and develop the park.

“I want them to do it,” she said of the State Parks. “They have the means, the knowledge for this king of work. They do it all the time.”

She and Rapp both said they appreciated the work of the previous board in getting the project to this point.

There still is a donation fund that can be used for park projects once the state develops the property. Community members donated money to that fund, along with a $10,000 donation by the credit union, for an estimated total of $22,000. Of that fund, $10,000 was used to pay the earnest money for the purchase of the property.

No decision has been made as to how to use the balance of the donated money.

“That will come later, after the state has built the park,” Abarr said.