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County commissioners are still considering how to value two west Jackson properties and how much they’ll put toward swapping those lands.

Members of the board met Monday with the Teton County Housing Authority to discuss swapping about four acres the town of Jackson owns off Snow King Avenue for about six acres the housing authority owns at Karns Meadow.

At least one commissioner said he wants another appraisal of the two parcels to determine how much the town and Teton County should pay for the difference in value. The last appraisal was completed in December.

“I want to get the best available information for us to make a responsible decision,” said county commission Chairman Hank Phibbs.

The town and county have been discussing the swap for months.

In April, the town purchased the 4-acre parcel, known as The Grove, for $6.2 million from Jack May.

Teton County paid about $900,000 toward that purchase price, but commissioners added conditions that a START facility must be built or the money would have to be returned.

The rest was funded with $2.5 million from the 2006 specific purpose excise tax initiative, $2 million from state “over-the-cap” money, $500,000 from a town employee insurance fund and $300,000 from a 5th cent capital projects fund.

The town purchased the land as the first step in securing a site for a proposed bus maintenance and storage facility for START.

Under a tentative agreement, the town would swap the land with the housing authority for the parcel near Karns Meadow. The START facility would be constructed there.

In 2006, the START board of directors commissioned a study to determine the best place to build a new garage and maintenance shop. That study, conducted by Jorgensen Engineering, recommended that the facility be built on the western portion of Karns Meadow, land that has been owned by the housing authority since 2001.

As part of the land swap, the START building would use about four acres, and the town would retain the remaining 1.75 acres for its own use.

On The Grove, the housing authority could build 60 to 70 units.

In January 2008, the town council approved development plans for a multistructure, mixed-use project totaling more than 90,000 square feet.

Last week, PAWS of Jackson Hole opened a temporary dog park on a portion of the L-shaped parcel. PAWS holds a two-year lease on the land from the town and is looking for a permanent location for the park.

If the swap proceeds, the town would pay the housing authority 65 percent of the difference in value, and the county would pay about 35 percent.

Just what that difference in value is might be up for debate.

Housing Authority Director Christine Walker said her board estimates the town and county should pay about $655,000. That sum is based on the sales price of The Grove, a December appraisal of the Karns property and entitlement costs for both.

“What the statement of value is today is not the same as last December,” Phibbs said. “To complete a transaction that is fair to both sides, we have to come up with fair values for both properties.”

In discussions with real estate agents, all have said they think the property values have decreased since the appraisals were conducted almost nine months ago, Phibbs said.

New appraisals could add more money to the deal.

Town Administrator Bob McLaurin said appraisals cost about $10,000 when last conducted.

“We can go get another,” he said. “I don’t object to that at all if that’s the will of the board. We can get two or three different appraisals. ... At the end of the day, the Board of County Commissioners and Town Council have to decide how much cash they are willing to put with this deal.”

Commissioner Andy Schwartz said the county has not paid appraised value for properties in the past.

“Appraisals are a tool,” he said. “They’re not a requirement or a statement of absolute. You can get different appraisers to get you different values. They’re all going to take different things into consideration.”

He also said all the entities involved are governmental, and money is not going toward the private sectors.

“Any monies [the housing authority] gets in excess are essentially monies they will use to build housing, so it’s a little different than a private individual and trying to figure out how much money to give them,” he said.

For the authority, the deal affords chance to pick up where The Grove left off. Commissioners expect to discuss the matter more during a meeting at 9 a.m. Tuesday.