HomeMy Public PortalAbout2-CM Report Attachment - IDL Letter
"Trusted Stewards of Idaho's Resources, from Main Street to Mountaintop"
DIRECTOR’S OFFICE
300 N 6th Street Suite 103
PO Box 83720
Boise ID 83720-0050
Phone (208) 334-0200
Fax (208) 334-5342
STATE BOARD OF LAND COMMISSIONERS
Brad Little, Governor
Lawerence E. Denney, Secretary of State
Lawrence G. Wasden, Attorney General
Brandon D Woolf, State Controller
Sherri Ybarra, Sup’t of Public Instruction DUSTIN T. MILLER, DIRECTOR
EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER
January 29, 2019
Name
Address
City, ST ZIP
Re: Lease M500031
Dear _____________:
Thank you for expressing your concerns about the event lease (M500031) issued by the Idaho
Department of Lands (IDL) near Tamarack Bay on Payette Lake. This letter attempts to explain
our current lease process and provide some background regarding this lease. Also, based on
citizen feedback like yours, we are currently reviewing our lease process to ensure greater
public transparency moving forward.
As directed by the State Board of Land Commissioners and Article 9, Section 8 of the Idaho
Constitution, IDL manages over 2.4 million acres of endowment trust land "…in such manner as
will secure the maximum long-term financial return…" to specific endowment beneficiaries.
This rustic event lease covers 28 acres of endowment land owned by the Public School and
Normal School endowments. The Normal School endowment benefits Lewis-Clark State
College, and Idaho State University endowments. There are also two other leases within the
boundaries of the event lease. Lease M500021 is for trail riding and lease G500069 is a grazing
lease for domestic livestock. These three non-exclusive leases allow for public access when no
paid event is taking place.
The leased endowment land is part of the endowment’s timberland asset class. Timberland is
considered land capable of growing successive crops of commercial forest products for
harvest. Leases on timberland provide income in addition to timber harvesting as the primary
revenue source.
In determining the rental rate for the event lease, IDL considered the proposed lease activity,
available market comparables, and the land's current timberland asset class. In the IDL Payette
Lakes Supervisory Area, the closest market comparable for determining commercial
recreational lease rent is Tamarack Resort, which operates a commercial recreation ski resort
on 2,000 acres of endowment timberlands for $150/acre/year. Applying this rate to the 28-acre
Recipient Name
Date
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event site lease would yield an annual rent of $4,200 . The rental rate in the lease specifies a
base rent of $4,000 and an additional $400 per developed acre, or portion thereof, which
include temporary developments such as pavers for a tent base, a viewing deck, or trail
improvements. Establishing rent for the event lease based on the residential asset class as
suggested would not be appropriate since the lease area is not located in a platted subdivision,
permanent structures do not exist and are not being proposed, nor is infrastructure such as
paved roads or utilities available for such development.
Currently, all new lease applications are advertised on the IDL website for a minimum of
30 days. The IDL advertised the event lease application on its website for 30 days, from April 26
through May 27, 2018. The IDL adds information such as the legal description, county in which
the new use is being proposed, acreage and other details and posts the information on its web
page. The IDL did not receive any additional lease applications for this property and no other
party expressed interest. If other lease proposals are received during this 30-day period, then
IDL reviews the lease proposals to determine if the uses are compatible. If the uses are
compatible, then IDL issues one or more leases for the same area . If not, then IDL conducts an
auction and the winning bidder is awarded the lease upon Land Board approval .
To better address future concerns by members of the public like yourself, we are currently
reviewing processes within our endowment leasing program when a change to commercial use
is being proposed on endowment land within a city's area of impact. The purpose of this review
is to ensure greater public transparency and financial benefits to the endowments by
encouraging alternative lease proposals.
In the future, IDL will be notifying adjacent neighbors and the city when a new commercial
lease application is received. We will be examining other proposed process changes that
include better advertising of lease applications on IDL's website to solicit alternative lease
proposals that benefit the endowments, and a review of comparable commercial lease rates
within a geographic area.
Thank you for reaching out to me regarding this matter. Please do not hesitate to contact
Sharla Arledge at (208) 334-0286 or by email at pio@idl.idaho.gov if you have any further
questions.
Sincerely,
Dustin T. Miller
Director