Baffling is the only word to describe the Wyoming State Board of Land Commissioners’ decision earlier this month to sell the 640-acre Kelly Parcel in Teton County to the National Park Service for $100 million.
$100 million is a lot of money, especially compared to the $2,800 per year the school trust parcel earned from leases on it for state public schools. And Gov. Mark Gordon said the sale would generate $64 million in investment income over the next decade while allowing the state, if the sale is finalized, to pursue buying Bureau of Land Management (BLM) property.
But the land is located in Teton County, where the average list price for a single family lot is $5.56 million, according to The Viehman Group’s most recent Jackson Hole Real Estate Report. The lots range in size from 0.17 acre in town to 35 acre plus lots, according to the report. So, is the Kelly Parcel really worth $100 million or could it be $640 million or over a billion dollars?
Gov. Mark Gordon, Treasurer Curt Meier and Auditor Kristi Racines won the 3-2 vote against Secretary of State Chuck Gray and Superintendent of Public Instruction Megan Degenfelder on the State Board of Land Commissioners. Ms. Degenfelder said in a statement she was “stunned” by the sale. She added, “This was clearly weeks, if not months, in the making, and I was not notified until the day before it was posted on the agenda of the Board of Land Commissioners.” Mr. Gray also complained about the short notice.
Over the past year Degenfelder said she had been working with Ms. Racines and the BLM to find land to swap for the Kelly Parcel that would have higher earning power for state schools. That option is also favored by Rep. Harriet Hageman, who has proposed legislation to prevent the federal government from increasing the number of acres under their control. She has said federal land ownership in Teton County is one of the major reasons for astronomical real estate prices in the area.
Whether or not the pending sale, which would be bought with a combination of federal tax dollars and private philanthropy ($62.5 federal and $37.5 private dollars), would generate the estimated revenue in coming years, what is abundantly clear is that it likely would be dead on arrival in President-elect Donald Trump’s administration given his plans to cut trillions in government spending.
The bigger issue, however, is how the sale is in the best interest of Wyoming residents when the price is utterly decoupled from market prices. And why did the three who voted in favor of the sale have to rush the vote? Why couldn’t a land swap have been pursued and why was so little time given to Ms. Degenfelder and Mr. Gray to analyze the proposal, much less citizens and real estate professionals who could have provided a more accurate assessment? And who benefits the most from the sale: Wyoming taxpayers or the federal government, which already controls 48 percent of Wyoming’s land?
Especially in light of the changing federal priorities expected under President-elect Trump, the sale should be postponed to give the state more time to deliberate what would be in the best interest of Wyoming taxpayers and students. Wyoming residents deserve both transparency and fiduciary responsibility from their elected officials.