Park an option for tract

The City Council will decide Monday if it wants to pursue plan.

By ROLF ROSENKRANZ

March 16, 2003

Fifth Ward Councilman John John, a real estate agent who is representing Sapp, has said the developer will include an option for the city to purchase land on the Philips tract for a park with a 40-acre lake as its centerpiece.

On Thursday, a lawyer representing Sapp made formal overtures to the city to discuss three options for acquiring parkland: 132.7 acres, 188.5 acres and 234.3 acres. Attorney Dan Simon said Sapp plans “mixed-use” development of the tract and would like to incorporate parkland. While Simon’s letter did not include any dollar amounts, it said Sapp was willing to sell land to the city for “a very fair price, which will be below market value.”

The question of whether the city is interested will go before the Columbia City Council when it meets at 7 p.m. Monday.

“Staff feels it may be appropriate to pursue discussions with the developer regarding possible inclusion of parkland as part of their land use planning,” City Manager Ray Beck said in a memo to the council on Thursday.

The council is being asked whether it wants to direct the staff to prepare a report on the feasibility of locating a park on the Philips tract.

Financing remains a key issue. There’s been talk for years about using all or part of the Philips tract for a park, but no one seems to know how the city would pay for it.

Beck said earlier this month that he doesn’t know how the city could afford such an acquisition.

“We don’t have the money,” Beck said.

Mayor Darwin Hindman last week said he supports the “general idea” of city parkland on the Philips property.

“It’s far from saying where things will stand when it comes to evaluating the development plans and costs,” Hindman said.

The Smart Growth Coalition, which includes groups such as the League of Women Voters and Sierra Club, has made the purchase of the tract for a park one of its priorities. The coalition last year presented the council a petition with about 1,000 signatures calling for preservation and public acquisition of the Philips tract.

The city’s recreation and open space master plan suggests the need for a regional park of about 200 acres in southeast Columbia that would have athletic fields similar to those at Cosmopolitan Park.

“There are not a great number of potential tracts of this size available,” Beck’s memo to the council said. “One possible location could be the Philips property.”

Parks and Recreation Director Mike Hood said there are “several other major city projects that need funding,” including the Russell tract that is being developed as a park.

It will be up to the council to prioritize spending for parks in the coming years, Hood said. “It all comes down to the community as a whole and what our priorities are.”

One funding possibility that’s sometimes used for major projects is a voter-approved tax or ballot issue.

That was the approach used in 2001 when city voters approved a quarter-cent sales tax for the purchase of Stephens Lake.

The parks tax is designated to improve and acquire parks. The tax is expected to generate $3.7 million in fiscal year 2003, with more than $2.3 million going into the development of Stephens Lake Park. The projected fund balance at the end of the year is $684,922, Hood said, but might be lower due to unforeseen expenses.