The sale of Leelanau County's courthouse property in Leland appears to be moving forward smoothly following action this week by the county Board of Commissioners.

At their monthly executive committee meeting on Tuesday morning, board members voted 6-0, with District No. 7 commissioner Melinda Lautner absent, to recommend approval of a real estate purchase and sale agreement between the county and Varley-Kelly Properties, L.L.C.

The county board’s action followed a recommendation from the board’s “Leland Property Subcommittee” which earlier this month voted 2-1 to recommend approval of the contract, with Lautner opposed. The contract calls on Varley-Kelly Properties to pay the county $2.4 million for its 2.5-acre property in Leland.

Through their corporation, local business partners R. Gene Kelly and James Varley are also asking the county to assist them in obtaining funding through the county’s Brownfield Redevelopment Authority to tear down existing buildings on the property and clean up any environmental contamination. The county is also being asked to lend its support to vacating Cedar Street between Chandler and Grand streets for development of housing units there.

Varley and Kelly have said they intend to develop the Leland property generally in keeping with the wishes of a citizen’s committee formed by Leland Township. The“Leland Options Committee” had recommended that a mix of reasonably-priced family housing units be developed on the property and that the Leland riverfront be kept open.

The county board’s executive committee this week also decided to pay Leland Township $137,500 for a “quit claim deed” on a 10,000 square-foot portion of the courthouse property immediately rather than at the closing of the sale. At a special, joint meeting late last month, the county board and the Leland Township Board decided to settle their differences over the status of a 1939 deed restriction that called on the 100-by-100-foot parcel to revert to the township if the county seat ever moved.

County administrator David Gill explained that it was to the county’s benefit to finalize the “quit claim deed” agreement with the township immediately because the action would need to be taken for the county to gain clear title to the property regardless of whether the sale to Varley-Kelly properties is finalized as expected.

The board voted 6-0 on Tuesday to authorize Gill to pay Leland Township $137,500 from the county’s Capital Improvement Building Fund immediately, to be replenished later with proceeds from the sale of the Leland property.

The county board is expected to take final action on recommendations of its executive committee at the board’s regular monthly meeting Tuesday evening.

The closing on the purchase of the property must occur by April 1, 2008, according to the agreement.

Meanwhile, construction of the county’s new courthouse and governmental center north of M-204 in Suttons Bay Township is proceeding apace, according to Gill. He told commissioners this week that exterior brick work and roofing was under way; and interior walls in the building are being erected.

Officials expect that county offices will begin moving from Leland to the new county seat around the beginning of 2008.