Wichita ? State officials said Monday they have received a long-awaited appraisal for the Circle K ranch, a major step in a deal that could become the state’s biggest land purchase since Kansas bought the Cheyenne Bottoms 50 years ago.

But the $3.2 million appraised value for the nearly 7,000-acre ranch in Edwards County came in about $1 million below what the city of Hays paid for it in 1995. The state hired three appraisers, who as a panel reached the $3.2 million figure.

Hays bought the ranch with the intent of pumping its groundwater for city use. Russell later purchased a share of the ranch.

The ranch has 57 irrigation wells — most of them about a mile from the Arkansas River. The state wants to buy the ranch and shut down its wells to stabilize groundwater levels in the area and help the Arkansas River flow again from Kinsley to Great Bend.

Neither state nor city officials could say how the lower-than-expected appraised value would affect negotiations, saying such sale talks are still a long way away.

“We certainly would have hoped it would have been higher, but again we have our own appraisal process and that will come into play when we talk,” Hays City Manager Randy Gustafson said Monday.

Gustafson said before moving forward with a possible sale, city officials first have to get their budget out of the way, a process that will take them into August. They also have several unrelated agreements on water to reach with the state before they will discuss selling the ranch.

“The ranch is last on our agenda,” Gustafson said.

The Hays City Commission has not yet made a commitment to sell the ranch, he said.

Steve Adams, the natural resource coordinator for the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks, said the next step in the process was to let the city review the appraisal before visiting with officials later this summer.

“This was just a step we were all waiting on so we could look to move forward on this,” Adams said. “Now that we have it available, we can begin to have serious discussions on where we go from here.”

In March, members of the governor’s subcabinet on natural resources recommended delaying budgeting for the purchase because more time was needed to finish the required appraisals.

The money will be sought from the state Legislature next year. Roughly 75 percent of the cost could come from the federal government, Adams said.

“This is an opportunity to address several needs of the state in general,” Adams said. “Number one is bringing water use more in balance of what it can sustain.”

The land also would provide wildlife areas, and the state would open it for recreational uses, such as hunting and hiking.

“Kansas is last in the nation in the percentage of public lands open to our public for outdoor recreation,” Adams said.