The Greene County Commission met yesterday evening and after a long debate, passed the resolution to allow County Mayor Kevin Morrison to take necessary steps and purchase the Cutshall Property located on Snapp’s Ferry Road, for $1.3M for economic development. 14 commissioners voted yes to purchase the property and 6 voted to not purchase the property.
The Budget and Finance Committe voted in early November to submit a resolution to the Greene County Commision and allow the mayor to proceed with the proper documents required to complete the transaction. The first step was to have a geological study done on the 50-acre property before purchasing it. The study, which was originally budgeted for $35, 000, ended up costing about $16, 000. The data from the study was used to determine if the property was a good fit for the county in regard to commercial development.
Mayor Morrison told the committee the study was very favorable. He said grants would be needed to develop the property, but some weren’t convinced the expensive process was necessary and felt way too much money would be used towards development. Morrison added the property includes just about the right size for development, has water, a sewer, gas, and more.
Commissioner Hoot Bowers asked what the case would be if the county did not receive grants to develop and Morrison replied there would be no development without grants. Bowers asked what amount would be needed to develop the property and what the next step was. President of Greene County Partnership Jeff Taylor was able to assist in most questions and said no actual number on the total amount is known at the time, but the next step would be developing a grading plan. Taylor explained a specific number couldn’t be provided due to currently being in the early stages of the plan.
Commissioner Tim White questioned whether the funds were being used appropriately and felt there could have been better options to get the data being requested for the commercial development without spending so much money. The property according to the Mayor, was considered to be one of the cheapest properties to develop out of ones that haven’t been considered in the past. Commissioner Nick Gunter added $26,000 an acre actually wasn’t that bad.
