PT aims to avoid eminent domain in acquiring club
The formerly carefully manicured grounds at Rolling Hills Country Club
A fenced-off swimming pool at the former Rolling Hills Country Club
Peters Township officials will meet this week with Pinehurst Land Partners LLC, the new owners of Rolling Hills Country Club, in an effort to come to an agreement that will allow the township and Peters Township School District to purchase the 198-acre site without having to resort to eminent domain.
Michael Silvestri, Peters manager, said Pinehurst requested the meeting. Silvestri said eminent domain would be used if a deal cannot be worked out.
Pinehurst, a consortium of developers led by F. Daniel Caste, acquired Rolling Hills for $8.7 million in a deal that closed June 28, according to documents filed with the Washington County Recorder of Deeds. Members of Rolling Hills, which closed at the end of 2015, now belong to Southpointe Golf Club, which is owned by Horizon Properties, a Southpointe developer.
Council at its regular meeting Monday passed an ordinance to enter into an intergovernmental cooperation agreement with the school district to formalize its partnership. The agreement is for five years, according to township documents.
The township has proposed using 93 acres at the site for parks and other recreational purposes and possibly a swimming pool. The school district, meanwhile, will use 97 acres of the property for a school campus.
Earlier this month, the school board agreed to apply for PlanCon Part C funding from the state to enable it to buy its portion of the land. PlanCon is a necessary first step for the district to receive reimbursement – as much as 46 percent – from the state. The township, meanwhile, plans to have a bond issue to finance its share of the cost. Silvestri said the bond issue will not move forward until the district knows if it will receive PlanCon funding.
In other business, council will hold an executive session Aug. 15 to meet with representatives from Meals on Wheels.
Late last year, the township decided not to renew the nonprofit’s lease on 5,000 square feet of space it occupies in the township fire department, which said it needs additional space for training and offices. Meals on Wheels’ lease expires in December 2017.
“We have asked them to come back to us with a proposal,” said Silvestri, adding the nonprofit would like to continue to share space with the fire department.
Meals on Wheels has been at its current location since 2008 and pays $4,000 a month in rent to the township.