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RALEIGH -- The Council of State approved this morning the purchase of 140 acres that will be added to Haw River State Park, which straddles Rockingham and Guilford counties.

The $5.75 million purchase is in addition to 692 acres the council voted to add to the park earlier this year. That $14 million sale closed last week and brings the park to 1,027 acres before this latest purchase is added.

Haw River Park has been threatened several times by development. This latest piece was due to become a housing subdivision dubbed Haw River Plantation, located on the existing park's northeastern border and downstream along the Haw from the environmental center.

Council of state members voted 5-2 to approve the latest acquisition after questions were raised about the cost. At roughly $41,000 an acre, it is more expensive than typical land buys for parks.

"It makes me wonder if we cut the best deal we could," State Auditor Les Merritt said after the meeting. In particular, he wondered if the state was bailing out a land developer whose project had stumbled in the faltering housing market.

Money for the purchase of Haw River Plantation from owners Liam and Maria Wallis could come from a combination of sources, including state trust funds for parks and recreation and borrowing.

Officials with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources explained that the owners had originally turned down the state's efforts to buy the property. However, they said changes in the personal lives of the owners convinced them to sell.

The Council of State includes Gov. Mike Easley, Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue and the elected leaders of eight departments in the executive branch. It has final say on major land purchases. Easley, Perdue and Attorney General Roy Cooper were not at today's meeting.

Merritt and Labor Secretary Cherie Berry, both Republicans, voted against the deal. Although they weren't against the purchase itself, they said they wanted to make sure the state was not overpaying.

Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler, a Republican from Browns Summit in Guilford County, stepped in to defend the purchase.

"If the state does not own this, then the expansion in that direction would be stopped," Troxler said after the meeting. "I do think we are putting that park in a very special place."

Troxler toured the land before the council of state meeting and told his colleagues that several roads and a handful of construction on the property justified the cost.

"It is a shame the state didn't get there before the subdivision started," Troxler said.

Contact Mark Binker at (919) 832-5549 or mark.binker@news-record.com