The Linn County Board of Supervisors agreed Monday to offer developers of the Prospect Meadows sports complex a 50-year, dollar-a-year lease on 121 acres of county-owned land north of Marion.

Legal wording is to be polished this week, and supervisors are expected to give formal approval to the offer next meeting.

Assistant Linn County Attorney Jeff Clark said that if the proposal is accepted by Prospect Meadows officials, a public hearing on the transaction will then be scheduled.  He said the process should be completed by the end of the year.

Developers of the proposed $9.4 million, 17-diamond baseball and softball complex had asked last summer for the county to donate the rental farm land near the corner of Highway 13 and County Home Road to the non-profit organization.

Supervisors, however, feel a nearly-free long term lease offers protection to taxpayers should the enterprise fail.

“We are incredibly supportive of this project,” Supervisor Linda Langston said Monday morning during the board’s informal session.  “Our goal is to help make sure it succeeds, and this is an investment in that success.”

On the other hand, Langston said, “This is valuable land at a prime location. Instead of turning loose of the land completely, we’ve got some protection if the project doesn’t live up to expectations.

“We see this as being responsible stewards of taxpayer property.”

Under a lease agreement the county retains ownership of the land, Clark said.

“And we see Prospect Meadows as the best and highest use of the land for the long term,” Langston said.

In addition to the recreational opportunities it is intended to provide, the complex has the potential of being an economic development boon as commercial businesses sprout up nearby.

“This will enhance the county’s tax, as well as the tax base for Marion,” Langston pointed out.

The City of Marion is expected to seek annexation of the property and adjacent land as the area is developed.

Original plans called for the complex to be open by the Summer of 2013.