The James City County Board of Supervisors will vote on whether to purchase a piece of land necessary to building a new fire station in Toano on Tuesday.
Then the supervisors will host a public hearing on whether the land, if purchased, should be leased back to the owners.
The county-owned fire station property and a piece of property owned by Charles and Susan Crawford at 7849 Church Lane in Toano both border an old Chesapeake and Ohio railbed. Who owns the property has been a matter of dispute as both parties have paperwork that proves ownership.
The Crawfords have agreed to sell their entire property –which includes a three-bedroom 1880s farmhouse — to the county for $390,000. A recent appraisal puts the property value at $304,600. The county would subdivide the property to use the railbed for the future fire station’s parking lot and then may rent the house back to the Crawfords. A public hearing will be held on that Tuesday.
The Crawfords agreed to lease the house for $1,750 per month for one year. They also agreed to keep the house in its current condition and to continue to maintain it.
Once the Crawfords vacate the home, the county would sell it to try to recoup most, if not all, of the purchase price.
Read a previous article about the potential property acquisition.
The full agenda of tonight’s meeting is available online. The meeting begins at 7 p.m. in Building F at 101 Mounts Bay Road.
Board meetings are broadcast live on JCCTV, Cox Cable 48, and online. Meetings and work sessions are rebroadcast on the Community Channel, Cox Cable 46 at 8 a.m., 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. Thursday.
