An 18-acre parcel purchased by Methow Trails is now part of Winthrop.
The Town of Winthrop’s annexation of an 18-acre parcel that will be the site of Methow Trails’ new headquarters was formally approved at last week’s Town Council meeting.
The annexation proposal has been in the works for more than a year, but it’s a complicated process that takes some time, Town Planner Rocklynn Culp told the council. Culp said Methow Trails has closed on the purchase of the site on Horizon Flats from Lavern Gray. Methow Trails and Gray had jointly petitioned for the annexation.
The property has been entirely surrounded by the town, a “donut hole” that, under existing county zoning, could have been divided into 5-acre lots. The roughly rectangular property extends east from Horizon Flats Road nearly to Highway 20 across from Pardners Mini Market and abuts an irrigation ditch.
Methow Trails’ intent is to move its headquarters to the site from the current leased location on Riverside Avenue, and to consolidate several other maintenance and storage facilities. Culp told the council that Methow Trails has formed a committee to explore how to best use the property.
The property is well-situated for possible connections with the Susie Stephens Trail and Community Trail, Methow Trails Executive Director James DeSalvo told the council last year, and might also serve a part of a long-envisioned trail connecting Twisp, Winthrop and the Methow Valley School District campus. It could also serve as trailhead parking or satellite parking for visitors, DeSalvo said.
