This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2012, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Now that the Salt Lake County parks and trails bond has passed, I hope the county will pay no more than fair market value for acquiring the properties involved.

One in particular that should be of interest to all county taxpayers is a 62.2-acre piece in Magna known in the bond proposal as "Magna Park." The Salt Lake County Assessor's Office has appraised the vacant piece of land (parcel 14-33-406-002) at $1.5 million. Property owner Alliant Techsystems, Inc., thinks it's worth less than that, as it has unsuccessfully appealed the value since at least 2005.

Now, the county parks bond authorizes $5.5 million for the purchase of this parcel, far exceeding the assessed fair market value. Alliant Tech can't have it both ways: Tell the county that the property is worth less than the county assessment, and then sell it to the county for a lot more than its assessed value.

Alan C. Andrus

Taylorsville