By MIKE COURSON
Great Bend Post
The Barton County Commission called it a "good deal all around." At Wednesday's meeting, the county moved forward on the sale of 20 acres in the northwest section of the county's sandpit area south of Ellinwood. The county also began the process of transferring water rights from Knop Sand to the county. Barton County Counselor Patrick Hoffman said he was pleased with how the deal worked out.
"It's really great when a deal comes together that makes great sense for both parties," he said. "This will allow the county to continue to expand our sandpit for a long time in the foreseeable future. It will also allow Knop Sand to enlarge their business and dig more sand. Really, both sides benefit from it."
About a year ago, Barton County purchased a 54-acre tract of land adjacent to the sandpit. The county wanted to sell or trade 20 acres of the land, and Knop Sand agreed to trade some of their water rights to the county for the land. County Engineer Barry McManaman said the trade will be hugely beneficial to the county.
"Right now we probably only have about three or four more acres we can pump," he said. "Our existing water right is about 11 surface acres. By going through this deal, this trade with Knop Sand, we're going to bump that up to where we'll have about 54 acres of water rights. It's a huge deal for the county. We're going to be able to operate at that location for many, many more years if we follow through with this."
Wednesday's approval by the commission merely kept the ball rolling in a process that will likely take months. With the commission's approval, McManaman will now submit the proper paperwork to the Division of Water Rights. A deed was also signed but will not be filed until the transfer of water rights is complete.