The county’s ‘project business plan’ notes the option for a driving range, but only among future amenities as a range already exists there. It seems cheaper to leave it there and to add netting to protect any nearby soccer players, rather than to build one elsewhere on the property. However, the range is on of one the site’s flattest portions, with soccer fields tentatively pegged for it. The range is near the clubhouse which can be used for concessions or other uses....Read it all.
Highland Lake’s soccer fields could be ready by August, 2012, Sparks and Davis told The Tribune. They are first in line to build fields which the county designs. The non-profit Henderson County Soccer Association (HCSA) will contract for the work. The county, which will pitch in $100,000, projects costs at $225,000 for nine soccer fields. HCSA covers the rest....
A critical factor in the affordability of the project is that 60 percent of the $1.15 million price can possibly be offset by the county’s pending sale of the Nuckolls Building for restaurateur Bob Quattlebaum’s $700,000 offer or any higher “upset” bid in the next month. Commissioners set that process into motion, too, in their Oct. 19 meeting.
Board of Commissioners Chairman Mike Edney told The Tribune he sees the possibility of linkage, wanting Nuckolls’sale revenue dedicated to Highland Lake Park. The money originally was factored into helping pay off the Law Enforcement Center, as Nuckolls housed the sheriff’s offices at Main Street and Second Avenue.
Some Highland Lake Park foes contend that such money actually just reverses county budget cuts, such as for education and library staff. The commissioner voting against the golf course purchase, Larry Young, wanted to hold off on new spending. “This economy is not going to turn around — not for three or four years,” Young said. “I don’t think this project is a priority, right now.”
Young cautioned that the park’s “maintenance and debt service payments will be probably $400,000 a year.” But county staff estimates the park’s yearly soccer field maintenance as $34,550 with an extra $158,897 as the debt payment starting in 2012-13, should the county accept the course owners’ offer of borrowing over 10 years with 4 percent interest.
Additional larger costs are for $230,000 to eventually light the soccer fields, and another $419,450 for basic park equipment and other amenities more easily put off. Interim Assistant County Manager David Whitson’s estimates include $15,000 for a playground, $30,000 for a dog park, $88,000 for four picnic shelters, $41,000 for restrooms, $16,000 for 40 picnic tables and $9,000 for an 18-hole disk golf course....
Vice Chairman Tommy Thompson echoed Edney’s point of how location is critical, with the site on the edge of the Village of Flat Rock near I-26’s Upward Road exit. The village needs to sign off on zoning for park development....
The more centrally located Highland Lake Park beat out a soccer complex HCSA had hoped to develop off U.S. 25 by Fletcher, on 51 of the 96 acres ArvinMeritor donated to the Town of Fletcher....
Monday, October 31, 2011
"County buying Highland Lake Golf Club for park with nine soccer fields"
A lot of the points brought up in this article are missing from the Times-News piece, such as the village having to sign off on the zoning--something we need to look into. Pete Zamplas of the Hendersonville Tribune, a weekly paper, has an in-depth article on the county deal for Highland Lake Golf Club:
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Let's not forget the lost property tax revenue from the sale of the golf course. Funny how it was reported as though this is done, when it's far from done. This can be stopped and must be.
ReplyDeleteFletcher almost chased away ArvinMeritor and cost hundreds of jobs to get that land since they exchanged 90 acres in exchange for delayed annexation. The soccer community was all for it then, got a sweetheart rent deal, and now it's not good enough?
No, Commissioners need to back out of this deal just like the soccer community backed out of the Fletcher deal.
If they want that course that bad, let THEM pay for it, go to a bank, get a loan privately and run it privately. They don't want that because they know it'll bleed money and want county taxpayers to cover the losses.
Artificial turf is overall the better value by far, and can be built at our four existing high schools, with lights, parking, bathrooms, concessions, etc. We're going to end up doing it anyway, so why not rent those fields out on weekends and summer? We would save a fortune in maintenence costs compared to grass fields, no water, no pesticides, fix things like the track at H'ville High, etc.
Unneeded fiefdom building, that is what this is. The soccer complex is exactly one mile from East Flat Rock Park.
Even if you didn't go with turf, the Fletcher site would not have been opposed like the Flat Rock property was. Just GIVE the soccer community the land, let them get a private loan and run it themselves, and wash our hands of this.
I'll be happy to discuss any of this at your next meeting.
Dennis Justice
Thanks for your comment. I've pulled it and posted it separately since it has a lot of good info. If you're interested in getting contact names of groups organizing, send your email address to friendsofhighlandlake@gmail.com and I'll get you some info.
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