Washington’s City Council, during its meeting Monday, authorized the city manager to proceed with renting land at the Washington-Beaufort County Industrial Park for farming purposes.

The lease proposal came from Beaufort County officials, City Manager Bobby Roberson noted. The county and city jointly own the industrial park, with the county having a 55-percent stake and the city having a 45-percent stake. The lease would involve the county, city and JOC Farms (Joseph Briley Jr. and family) for terms of one year, according to a memorandum from Roberson to the mayor and council. If the lease is executed, the yearly rent would be $9,303.60 (based on $120 per acre). The lease covers about 77 acres.

“In essence, what they want to do is enter into a lease with JOC Farms, which is Mr. Briley and his family, for that amount. There are some minor corrections on the lease that Franz (Holscher, city attorney) and I will shore up before we send it over to the county,” Roberson said.

The county advertised for proposals to farm the property, according to a county document, the JOC Farms offering to pay $120 per acre a year and Arnold Farms Inc. offering $100 per acre a year.

The rent would be split between the county and city, each receiving revenue based on the percentage of its ownership of the industrial park. The county would receive $5,116.98 under that formula, with the city receiving the remaining $4,186.62.

The memorandum notes “the city and county finds it does not currently have a superior use for, at this time.”

The property is vacant, not producing revenue for the city and county. Renting the land for agricultural use would produce income for the city and county, notes the memorandum. The lease would begin Jan. 1, 2017.

If the county and city find a buyer for the land, it’s possible JOC Farms would lose crops because the new owner would take possession of the land. If that occurs, the city and county would compensate JOC Farms for any losses. The amount of such a payment would be determined by multiplying the number of acres lost by the average gross sales of the remaining acres covered by the lease.

Councilman Doug Mercer questioned how much the city would pay if JOC Farms is compensated for losses related to the county and city selling the land. Roberson said the city would pay 45 percent of such compensation, with the county paying the remaining 55 percent.

“If the value of the crop that is lost is greater than the value of the rent, we lose money,” Mercer said.

“That is correct. We’re going to clarify that,” Roberson said.