County could buy 70 acres for new rec site

The school system plans to use 100 acres of the property for new schools, likely a new high school to relieve growth straining Jackson County High School.

Since the system doesn’t need the full 170 acres, it has offered to sell a portion on the back side to the county for the price it paid for the land, $32,500 per acre.

The county has budgeted $2 million for 2024 to acquire additional park and recreation land in the county.

On a related matter, the BOC heard a report that plans for a new South Jackson recreation park on New Kings Bridge Rd. and an archeological park between Nicholson and Jefferson were both on track to break ground this year.

The reports came during an April 15 BOC planning meeting with staff members.

Among other items discussed were:

• the possibility of using reserve funds this year to pay off $6 million in callable bond debt.

• buying back some employee leave time.

• how to proceed on financing for a new fleet maintenance building, a project that will likely cost substationally more than first thought.

• when to move forward on engineering for several projects, including a roundabout at the intersection of Ridgeway Church Rd. and SK Blvd./Steve Reynolds Pkwy.

• the upcoming comp plan update and setting up a committee for the process.

• rules that would potentially limit special use permits for event venues, including possibly setting a minimum acreage size and/or going back to an older rule that required applicants to live on the property being proposed for an event venue.

• that the county Senior Center expansion was on time and that an expansion of the county Animal Shelter would soon begin work. The shelter would not be closed during the expansion.