At the first Roanoke City Council Meeting Monday with new members of Council, Mayor Bowers directed an inquiry to the City Manager as to the status of the Countryside property. The inquiry led to disclosure of a briefing to Council scheduled for August 4th at about 10:00 AM following a meeting with the Roanoke City School Board at 9:00 AM at Addison. It will be held in the EOC room (basement) in the Municipal Building and is open to the public. Ms. Burcham advised that it will be about an hour and one half as many aspects along with immediate action issues need to be conveyed. Not the least of which is the continuation of golf course operations by "somebody" or to continue with Meadowbrook the current operators. The lease with Meadowbrook ends November 1st. Also, the 40 year lease of the Airport owned property (clear zone) where fairways reside terminates at the end of October. The Airport Authority will need to allow for continuation of the lease. If you recall the Director of the Airport informed the previous owners of Countryside (Meadowbrook who now operates it) that the Airport Commission would NOT renew the 40 year lease. At that time non renewal of the lease was used to pressure the sale of the golf course to the city. I would wager that the lease with the CITY will be renewed by the the Airport Commission.
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Anyone interested in observing the briefing can attend on August 4th. Also visit Councilman Dave Trinkle's blog and his post concerning Countryside. I had a hard time following his thoughts so let us help him understand the "vision".
2 comments:
Valerie:
I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one who didn't understand what Dave was trying to say. I think he supports the idea of keeping the golf course, but he seems to be under the impression that there is a lot of extra space somewhere that can still be developed. I've spent a fair amount of time on that golf course, and I can't think of a single accessible spot for houses or commercial development. It makes you wonder if he's ever visited the site.
I read it the same way as you, Chris. There are several swaths of land. Let me name them..
1. The area from the putting green through the old pool, past the old temporary clubhouse, through the tennis complex and beside the first green.
2. A narrow triangle of land on the left side of number two , just prior to the Trane compound.
3. On the right side of number five, especially as you get closer to the home development. The airport might have something to say about developing there.
4. In the woods to the right of numbers 7 and 8 and left of number 17. Very steep land that is again in the flight path.
5. To the left of number nine beside Tuckawana Circle. If you package that land with the existing driving range, you get an attractive, accessible flat parcel.
That's it. Of these spots, options 1 and 5 seem most attractive to development.
Obviously, something needs to be done with the old pool and tennis complex. That whole area is an eyesore.
I'm most concerned about the land beside Tuckawana Circle. In my opinion, it would be a huge mistake to "develop" that property. It already is "developed" as a driving range. If Mr. Trinkle is serious about having the city fully support the golf course and improve its condition, it makes no sense to take away an essential golf course element and valuable revenue source.
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