Daniel Prince
Previous ordinance did not imply ownership of the property
In a very short special meeting of Union County Council, the council passed second reading of an ordinance authorizing the sale and conveyance of the City Park property, located at 615 West Main Street, to the Union-Laurens Commission on Higher Education. The vote was unanimous, with councilmember Annie Smith recusing herself from the vote due to her employment with USC Union. You may remember that council passed a similar ordinance last year.
WBCU News asked Supervisor Phillip Russell what the difference is between the two ordinances. He said that the previous ordinance had language that did not imply ownership of the property, stating it would revert back to county ownership after 20 years. He said the state will not give money for a capital project on property it does not own. He said the new ordinance states that if the university ceases to exist in the next 50 years, the property would only then revert back to county ownership. The property will be sold to the university for $1, and they are expected to make more than $1 million in upgrades to the facility.
The basketball court will be relocated to another park, as Russell said at last month’s council meeting that the Parks and Recreation Department are coming up with a plan for the basketball court. Emergency helicopters will land on the back side of the property where the old tennis courts were. Third and final reading of the ordinance will take place at the regular February meeting.