Council OKs $36M deal to buy gravel mine on Maury Island

The Metropolitan King County Council on Monday approved County Executive Dow Constantine's proposal to buy a 250-acre Maury Island gravel mine for $36 million and turn it into a park.

Newly elected Councilmember Joe McDermott, whose district includes Vashon and Maury islands, said the purchase is important to salmon and "all the creatures" of Puget Sound.

The buyout negotiated with owner CalPortland follows a decade of bitter battles over the company's plan to ship sand and gravel off the island by barge.

Councilmember Kathy Lambert cast the only vote against the deal, saying she preferred to keep most of the mile-long shoreline natural but to allow shipment of gravel over a portion of it.

The purchase will be funded with $19.1 million from the county's conservation futures fund, a $14.5 million grant from the state Department of Ecology and the $2.4 million value of gravel CalPortland can extract without payment from a separate county-owned property on Maury Island through 2030. Private donors are expected to reimburse $2 million of the county's cost.

Keith Ervin: 206-464-2105 or kervin@seattletimes.com