COLDWATER, MI (WTVB) – The Branch County Board of Commissioners heard a presentation from the Michigan State University Department of Forestry Chair during their Thursday work session on a possible 25-year public partnership concerning 168 acres the county owns on Bater Road.
Doctor Rich Kobe said their department has a top ten global ranking and a reputation for being innovative. As part of their educational approach, they emphasize hands on training by their students.
He detailed the type of undergraduate courses that can be developed by using the Bater Road property.
Kobe said they are interested in the property because it’s relatively close to the East Lansing campus and has a large amount of forest land.
A possible partnership with M.S.U. is one option the county is looking at. The other is the creation of a Branch County Nature Park. County Administrator Frank Walsh said in his memo to the Commissioners the property would be considered a “passive park.”
Branch County bought the property in 1975 for the possibility of using it as a landfill site. The property has sat idle for 51 years except for some minor farming and hunting.
The county was notified in 2024 by the Batavia Township Assessor that income from the lease caused them to lose its tax exemption.
Walsh says the annual Bater Road tax payment to Batavia Township is about $16,000. The 2025 land lease brought in $4,000.
The Board of Commissioners initiated a review of options for the property last year and the matter is expected to come up again sometime this spring.
Walsh pointed out to Commissioners that under state law, the creation of a park would allow the county to regain its tax exemption.
He also said that according to their counsel, there is “clear and distinct” case law that allows the county to enter a partnership with a public university and that based on the educational merits of the partnership, a tax exemption would be regained by the county.
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