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