News

Hawkins rips county's newest park as unneeded

By Bill Moss, Published: April 20, 2016

The Henderson County Board of Commissioners authorized a grant application for a new park and hiking trails in Green River on Wednesday but not before Commissioner Grady Hawkins rebuked the board for committing to new public lands while other park improvements remained unfinished.

Hawkins also criticized his colleagues for holding a public hearing on an application for a state Parks and Recreation Trust Fund (PARTF) grant after having already committed to the grant last month. The board agreed in March to a partnership with the Carolina Mountain Land Conservancy to develop and maintain the so-called Bell Trail, part of a 68-acre park that would include public access points and trails. The trail would connect the old High Bridge on U.S. 276 across the Green River and Pot Shoals and the Tuxedo hydroelectric plant.
“There is no justification to create another county park in Henderson County at this time,” Hawkins said. The county has 647 acres in county and municipal parks, he said, and the Carolina Mountain Land Conservancy has partnered with landowners to reserve 30,000 acres from development. “There are six bike trails, 10 nature trails and five hiking trails in Henderson County and within a short distance you’ll find 15 bike trails, 34 nature trails and 31 hiking trails in national parks, state parks and other facilities,” Hawkins said.
"A park grant would better utilized at existing parks such as Dana, Tuxedo, Westfeldt Park and the new tennis courts at Jackson Park,” he added. “The county spends $1.6 million a year on recreation. Grant money is tax money and the loss of revenue from real estate (exempt from taxes) is real money.”
Commissioner Michael Edney responded that while the county does need to finish work on existing parks, adding new public lands is an investment that pays off.
“One reason we have industries like Sierra Nevada is our quality of life here, and parks and that type of thing are a part of that. Six-hundred and forty-seven acres out of 123 million is a small number to invest in that. Yes, we need to work on what we've got but I see nothing wrong with continuing to work for quality of life issues for this county.”

Last month the board voted 4-1 — with Hawkins voting no — to enter into the partnership with the Carolina Mountain Land Conservancy. The CMLC would buy the land at a reduced price and work with the county Recreation Department on trail construction and maintenance in a co-management arrangement similar to an agreement on the Hickory Nut Gorge property.
Kieran Roe, executive director of the CMLC, said the conservancy plans to apply for a grant of $450,000. The CMLC will provide the required local match with cash and a credit for the difference between the market value of the land and the sale price, Roe said. Henderson County is not required to provide the match.