Hamilton County is set to purchase of 8.5 acres of property from Apison Baptist Church for $1.25 million for future use as a park after the County Commission voted unanimously in favor of the purchase.
The property is across the street from a county-owned volunteer fire department and adjacent to the only park in Apison, County Mayor Weston Wamp told commissioners at their meeting Wednesday.
The county originally intended to purchase only a parcel of land that was listed for $750,000, Wamp said, but the church received an offer for both that acreage and an adjacent house. After that offer was made, the church was only interested in offers for both, upping the purchase price from $750,000 to $1.25 million.
“They had an offer. It was going to end up probably being 30 homes. We didn’t think that was ideal, we certainly do believe it’s a conservation opportunity, but it costs more than we wanted it to cost,” Wamp told commissioners. “The good news is we’ve got a very marketable 2,000-square-foot home that we do believe is worth at least $400,000.”
The house is a single-family home that was being used as a parsonage. Commissioner Jeff Eversole, R-Ooltewah, said there had been discussions about selling the parsonage.
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If the parsonage is sold, all of the proceeds would go back into the general fund balance, according to an amendment to the resolution approving the purchase brought by Commissioners David Sharpe, D-Red Bank, and Steve Highlander, R-Harrison.
Selling the parsonage for the price county officials are estimating, around $400,000, would bring the net cost to $850,000, Wamp said.
The parsonage would not be fit to renovate into a recreation center, and it would be more appropriate to sell the home and make back some of the money the county is spending, Commissioner Lee Helton, R-East Brainerd, said.
Wamp held a press conference July 15 announcing the county’s intent to purchase the land. County officials in attendance said the hope was to prevent another subdivision from being built in the southeastern rural part of the county.
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The park already in Apison has a tennis court, pickleball court and walking track, Helton said at the time.
The vision for the expanded park would include a couple baseball fields and soccer fields, Helton said, or even a dog park. The flatness of the parcel lends itself to youth sports, he said.
When asked about a timeline for the park opening during the July press conference, Wamp said the county would plan phases so the land would be available to the public as soon as possible.
The amendment to put funds from the sale of the parsonage back into the general fund balance passed without opposition, and the full resolution to purchase the land passed with no opposition.
Contact breaking news reporter Kailee Shores at kshores@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6659.