In response to questions from Eastern Wake News staff writer Denise Sherman, Knightdale Mayor Russell Killen said the town will ask for an updated appraisal of property near downtown Knightdale which the town wants to buy for use as a park.

The town originally agreed to pay the property owner - former mayor Billy Wilder - $40,000 per acre for the 75-acre tract.

But the bottom has fallen out of the real estate market since the time that deal was made. And it's prudent fiscal management to make sure the deal is as good now as it was then.

The appraisers who made the first estimate of the land's value stand by their numbers. They say an updated appraisal won't likely change their findings significantly because there haven't been many similar land sales to compare this with this transaction.

But a quick look around eastern Wake County reveals the Marks Creek Initiative - an open space initiative that has cobbled together 1,500 acres from a patchwork of property owners in the area. That land has cost Wake County and its partners about $19,500 per acre - less than half what the Wilder property has been appraised at.

And most of that land has been purchased in the past few years - a time when land values were generally higher than they are in today's economy.

We believe the land purchase would be a good one for Knightdale. As the saying goes, they aren't making any more land. Preserving open space now makes sense for the town's long-term quality of life.

At the same time, council members should be certain they aren't paying too dear a price - with taxpayer's money - to secure that future.

With land sales slowed to a crawl, the town has the benefit of time. There is not likely another potential buyer waiting on the doorstep to purchase Wilder's property.

The town should be willing to pay a fair price for the property.

No one thinks the town should get something for nothing. But taxpayers have an expectation as well, that the town will negotiate a fair price on their behalf.

Getting a clear picture of the value of this property now is the first step in making sure that happens.