- The Henderson County Board of Commissioners voted 4-1 on October 19 at their regularly scheduled meeting to exercise the option agreement (signed August 26, 2011) with Course Doctors, the owners of Highland Lake Golf Club, to purchase that property for $ 1.15 million.
- The county plans to develop that property with the help of the Henderson County Soccer Association (HCSA) into a soccer complex with at least 9 fields.
- According to the current option agreement, there is a December 31, 2011, deadline on purchasing the property, although the terms of the option agreement can always change (i.e., deadlines extended, etc.).
- I do not know if the county must make public (in a timely manner) any changes they or Course Doctors.makes to the option agreement signed August 26 (for instance, if the deadline is extended).
- According to Henderson County manager Steve Wyatt, a necessary next step the county board must take in the legal proceedings of the deal is to vote on how they plan to finance the purchase, either through financing or a cash sale. I do not know if this vote has to be public or not.
- Henderson County has enough money to purchase the property outright at this point, if, as Mr. Wyatt said at the November 7 meeting, it is a "county priority."
- No vote on how to finance the purchase was taken at the November 7 county board meeting
- The county board meeting agenda for their next regularly scheduled meeting (this Wednesday, November 16 at 9:00 a.m.) does not include a vote on this matter, but once again, I don't know if this vote has to be public or not.
- The Village of Flat Rock has not received any plans or requests for zoning changes.
- The Village of Flat Rock cannot vote for or against something they don't have, so there has been no vote on any zoning changes--because none have been requested.
- Only the owner of the property (at this point, Course Doctors) or someone they designate can request the zoning changes--Henderson County cannot unilaterally request a zoning decision without Course Doctors' permission.
- Although the county's draft business proposal (last updated October 11, 2011) includes financial contributions by the HCSA, at the November 7 county board meeting, Mr. Wyatt showed no dollar amount from the HCSA in his presentation. The only firm commitment for development of a soccer complex, other than Henderson County, is $100,000 from Park Ridge Health (and their contribution is tied to a soccer complex, not a location). Mr. Wyatt said the HCSA is a "soft" commitment--no guarantees and no determined specific amount.
Monday, November 14, 2011
Where we are now and what we know. . .
This is my understanding of where we are now in the Highland Lake Park/Soccer Complex scenario--someone please correct me if I'm wrong or if I'm missing something:
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There is a very lengthy sequence of events present that must come together perfectly for this soccer complex to become a reality on the Highland Lake Golf site.
ReplyDeleteTo me it just seems statistically implausible that all of these hurdles will be overcome and ultimately bring the soccer complex to fruition on this swampland -- especially in the face of all this opposition.
As previously observed, have to stay vigilant, can't let up on the pressure, but if I were a betting man, and I am, I'd bet this deal fails.
It's interesting to me that nobody seems to be able to get any comments from the Course Doctors principals. But I do think I understand why...
...my gut tells me their next best offer would be a small fraction of the current $1.15 million agreed price. And given the restrictions placed on the property I doubt there is, or will be, another offer.
JMO.
If the present owners of the golf course feel they are not getting enough return on their investment one would like to question the operation of the project. Are they using the most efficent methods for running the operation??? Do the fees need to be raised??? Was this property placed for sale on the open market...perhaps others may be interested in the golf course property. I have seen this situation raise its head in my former hometown of Smithtown, N.Y. When the course was running in the red sale to a developer was on the table. With support from local residents via petition,the Suffolk County Commision bought the property and was able to turn it into a profitable enterprise. Giving all of us a relatively inexpensive recreation outlet. Not everyone who plays Golf has buckets of money to spend on recreation. Thank you for listenting to my thoughts. Rita Ross, Highland Lake Village
ReplyDeletePark Ridge is near the Fletcher sight.
ReplyDeleteDo you think they will still sponsor complex if in Highland Lakes? In emergency situations players would be transferred to closest hospital which would be Pardee. Does soccer association have a guaranteed pledge?
Hope HC commissioners are making a list of questions and checking the facts. Parks Ridge should reveal the agreement.
Keep up the heat.
Park Ridge Health has made very clear that they are prepared to sponsor the soccer complex wherever it's built--they're interested in creating space for healthy activity and the exact location is not important to them. Let's not suspect everyone of hidden motivations. Park Ridge has repeated their intent to sponsor no matter the location several times, including in the public input session of the Nov 7 county commissioners meeting.
ReplyDeleteI am not a big fan of the proposed project as I enjoy regularly using the practice range at HLGC. However, I do object to some of the negative tone used in some of these threads towards the owners. I've known them for years and they're good people. They've done nothing wrong other than attempt to sell their property. Golf has fallen on hard times across the country as many have chosen to no longer spend $ on the sport. You cannot blame a property owner for selling their property to a willing buyer. For those that want to keep it as a golf course, contact the owners and submit a back-up offer for the property. This happens all the time in home sales. On another note, has anyone thought about what might happen to the property if its not a park? Kind of like staring into the abyss...
ReplyDeleteI agree, Anonymous--it's private property and the owners can sell it to whomever they wish. As taxpayers, however, we can object to how our tax money is being spent by the county and the manner in which the deal was handled. As far as what might happen to the property if the county doesn't buy it, of the 60-odd acres, around 40 are deemed a flood plane and cannot be built on, of the 20-odd acres left, they are zoned by the Village at R-20, which means one house per half acre, so around 40 houses could be built on the higher part of the property. My understanding, and I may be wrong, is that the property was never on the open market, so we're not sure what offers the owners might receive. It is a tough market, which is why we're concerned about tax dollars being used in this deal.
ReplyDeleteAnne
ReplyDeleteI don't disagree with you at all. In fact, I wish there was an equal amount of outrage from the taxpayers on the $3.5 million Boyd property at HHS, the sheriff's taj mahal, the new social services bldg, and the renovated old social services bldg. In addition, I think most people would be outraged if they took the time to examine the county's $100 million budget dept-by-dept. But I digress as I'm now off topic! Thanks for the blog.