The Leelanau County Board of Commissioners and the Leland Township Board are at each other again — and their current fight could interfere with the sale of the county's courthouse property in Leland.

The county board this week decided that Leelanau County should file suit against Leland Township over the status of a 10,000-square-foot portion of the county’s 2.5-acre campus in Leland. The township conveyed the land to the county in 1939 through a deed that indicated the parcel would revert to the township if the county seat moved.

The county seat is slated to move from Leland to Suttons Bay Township sometime early next year after construction of a $10 million governmental center is completed.

Leland Township has not provided Leelanau County with a quit claim deed that would allow the county to sell the entire courthouse property “free and clear of any restrictions and possibilities of reverter,” according to a resolution slated for adoption by the county board next week.

Meanwhile, the clock is ticking on an offer from local businessmen R. Gene Kelly and James Varley, who hope to purchase the county’s courthouse campus “free of all liens and encumbrances.” The partners have verbally offered to purchase the entire courthouse campus for $2.4 million – just $100,000 below its appraised value – and redevelop it generally in keeping with the wishes of a Leland Township citizens’ committee which was formed last year.

On Feb. 20, the county board gave Varley-Kelly Properties, L.L.C. 45 days to present a formal purchase agreement. The partners met with county administrator David Gill on Monday and reported that they and their attorney were still working on a draft of the purchase agreement.

Gill said he expected Varley and Kelly would meet sometime next week with the county board’s Leland Property Subcommittee to present the draft purchase agreement. Based on a recommendation from the subcommittee, the full county board would likely convene a special meeting later this month to consider signing a purchase agreement with Varley and Kelly, Gill said.

However, the county’s ability to sell the property to Varley and Kelly could be hamstrung by a court fight with Leland Township, which has steadfastly refused to provide the county with a quit claim deed on its 100-square-foot portion of the courthouse campus.

The Leelanau County Board of Commissioners and the Leland Township Board have a decades-long history of conflict over the status of the courthouse property. Most recently, in the late 1990s, the county filed suit against Leland Township over zoning issues that ultimately prevented the county from expanding the courthouse and jail in Leland. The suit was subsequently dropped and plans were made to move county facilities to Suttons Bay Township.

At its regular monthly meeting on Monday evening, the Leland Township Board voted unanimously on a motion by supervisor Harry Larkin to respond to the county’s request for a quit claim deed on the 100 square-foot property.

The township’s response indicated that the township would convey title to the parcel if it receives a prorated share of proceeds from the county’s $2.4 million sale of the courthouse property – an amount Larkin estimated at something between $218,000 and $220,000.

Alternatively, the township might exchange the 100-square-foot property for two parcels adjacent to the Leland Volunteer Fire Department property for possible expansion of the fire hall. County officials say the two parcels were appraised at $180,000 each.

In addition, the township may offer to relocate a fire hydrant located on a 40-foot-long township-owned parcel that fronts the Leland River adjacent to the county’s River Office Building. Larkin also said the township would be willing to discuss giving up its riverfront property if the action would result in the township acquiring the two parcels adjacent to its fire hall property.

In a March 12 memo from county administrator Gill to township supervisor Larkin, Gill wrote: “The (county) Board of Commissioners is not offering any compensation for the requested Quit Claim Deed (for the 100 square-foot parcel), but feels that the deed would be more beneficial to both units of government than a Quiet Title Action in Circuit Court and the resulting publicity and attorney fees.”
Leland Township trustee Nicholas Lederle said Monday that the township has on file an opinion from township attorney Martha Black that the reversionary clause in a deed for the 100-by-100-foot parcel is “pretty solid.”

Staff writer Chris Olson contributed to this report.