County Museum Practically Gives Land Away To MWA

The county has declared nearly 45 acres of land it owns on the outskirts of Apple Valley surplus property and is now in the process of selling it to the Mojave Water Agency at a bargain basement price.
According to a report to the board of supervisors jointly authored by David H. Slaughter, the director of real estate services for the county and Robert L. McKernan, the county museum’s director, “county-owned property (a portion of APN 0433-061-29), containing approximately 44.9 acres located in the unincorporated area near the town of Apple Valley, is no longer necessary and surplus to the needs of the county.” Slaughter and McKernan called for the board to endorse a resolution granting an option to sell the property to the Mojave Water Agency, a regional water provider serving the High Desert region, in accordance with section 25365 of the Government Code.
The board did just that, authorizing board chairman Gary Ovitt to execute the option agreement and the memorandum of option granting the Mojave Water Agency the option to purchase 44.9 acres of county-owned land for consideration in the form of improvements to be constructed on the adjoining county-owned land in the amount of $146,000.
The Mojave Water Agency, which is also known by its acronym, MWA, was formed by an act of the California Legislature in 1959 and manages groundwater in portions of the Mojave Basin and Morongo Basin, with a service area of over 4,900 miles. The MWA holds a California State Water Project contract and utilizes a variety of facilities to import and distribute water to replenish groundwater basins and to meet the obligations of the Mojave Basin Area and Warren Valley judgments related to groundwater supply. MWA’s function is to utilize available supplies in a manner consistent with California Water Code Section 79562.5(b), which outlines four elements of integrated water management planning and include water supply, groundwater management, ecosystem restoration and water quality.
According to Slaughter and McKernan, “The county of San Bernardino owns a 74.29-acre parcel (APN 0433-061-29) in the unincorporated area near the town of Apple Valley and the Mojave River, more commonly known as the Vollmer Property. This property was gifted to the county by San Bernardino County Museum Association, a California non-profit Corporation in February 2006. The museum association has worked with the San Bernardino County Museum since 1961 in an effort to make the museum a significant regional museum in North America. The purpose of the gift was to further the museum’s mission to provide multi-disciplinary research and to support scientific and historic programs and operations. The county is not prohibited from using the property for non-museum purposes or transferring title. Terms of a memorandum of understanding between the county and the museum association and approved by the board on August 2, 2005 provide that upon sale of the property or any portion thereof, any net proceeds are to be used for museum purposes.
“MWA approached the county regarding acquisition of a portion of the county-owned 74.29-acre parcel,” the Slaughter/McKernan report continues. “MWA determined that the location of the county-owned parcel would be suitable for the development of a new operations center facility and basin recharge site on the Mojave River. To accommodate the construction of the proposed facility, MWA needs to acquire 44.9 acres. County Museum examined its future needs and determined that the 44.9-acre portion of the 74.29 acre parcel is not necessary for its purposes. Museum also determined the proposed use of this land by MWA would not negatively impact the use of the remaining 29.39 acres. In fact, both parties would benefit in a collaborative effort in that MWA would acquire property needed to meet its objectives and in turn would assist the county in developing a High Desert County Museum Interpretive Center on the county’s remaining 29.39 acres.”
At that point in their report, Slaughter and McKernan ventured off in a direction that some consider to be somewhat questionable, assigning a value to the property that appears to be below current prices being paid for land in the area, even in today’s depressed real estate market.
“MWA retained an appraisal consultant who determined the value of the real estate, as of the effective date of the appraisal, December 8, 2008, to be $3,250 per acre,” the report states. “The real estate services department reviewed the appraisal and determined the value to be reasonable. The estimated value of the entire 44.9 acres is $146,000.”
With those numbers set, the county museum division requested the assistance of real estate services in negotiating the necessary agreements for the purchase of the 44.9 acres by the Mojave Water Agency. Real estate services negotiated an option agreement contingent upon the Mojave Water Agency obtaining approvals by all required agencies of environmental review and sensitive habitat studies and any other required or necessary review or studies pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act, the National Environmental Policy Act and any other applicable federal, state or local statute, regulation or rule approval by all required agencies for the Mojave Water Agency’s proposed operations center facility and the proposed High Desert County Museum Interpretive Center. An environmental impact study is underway, and, according to Slaughter and McKernan, should be completed in the near future.
Their report states, “As consideration for the 44.9 acres, MWA will construct for the museum, on the county’s remaining 29.39 acres, the interpretive center at a cost equal to $146,000, which is the appraised value of the land. In addition, MWA will pay all costs associated with transfer of the county property, including but not limited to escrow and title fees, permits, surveys, construction costs, the California Environmental Quality Act, environmental review and any required habitat mitigation for the entire 74.29 acres. Upon completion of construction of the operations center and the interpretive center, MWA will allow the county limited use of its operations facility for interpretive center purposes through a joint use agreement.”
That joint use agreement will allow the county limited use of the Mojave Water Agency’s operations center facility, with twenty-four hours notice, for interpretive center purposes. This will allow educational activities for groups of no more than 40 persons to tour the operations center facility and use the restroom facilities and the conference room.
It is proposed that the interpretive center will have two public purposes, both pertaining to educating visitors to the cultural and natural heritage of the Mojave River and surrounding landscapes. The primary goal is to utilize the location for scheduled kindergarten through 12th grade student field trips through the department’s existing educational program “Museum on the Road”; thereby, using the outdoor environment to interpret history, anthropology, biology and geology in compliance with state educational standards. In addition, the interpretive center will be a self-guided educational location for visitors to discover the cultural and natural heritage of the Mojave River and surrounding landscapes and promote life-long learning of the High Desert environment of San Bernardino County.