New Kent supervisors approve park land swap

Giving up a 100-acre site for a county recreation park in exchange for space just over half that size may seem odd, but for New Kent’s Board of Supervisors it was an offer they couldn’t refuse.

Supervisors agreed Monday night to exchange the 100-acre location off Criss Cross Road for 39 acres on Pine Fork Road. Also in the mix is another 15 acres that the county accepted, located next to the Pine Fork site.

That gives the county 54 acres of flat land that has easy access from Pine Fork Road. Only about 60 of the 100 acres at Criss Cross had been deemed usable, county administrator Rodney Hathaway said.

“[The 39 acres] is the better option since it’s flat, there are few environmental issues, and it fronts on Pine Fork Road,” he told the board.

The Criss Cross site is rolling terrain that presents access and environmental problems that translate into added expense. Hathaway has pegged the extra expense at close to $2 million.

“We’d have to build a bridge to access that property since it’s cut off by a swamp,” he said.

Southwest Holdings, owners of the 39 acres, approached county officials earlier with the land swap concept. Monday night, supervisors voted 5-0 for approval.

Under terms of the deal, Southwest Holdings receives the 100 Criss Cross acres in exchange for the 39 Pine Fork acres. The company also agrees to pay the county $55,700 to account for the difference in appraised value. New Kent Farms LLC, meanwhile, agrees to deed the adjoining 15 acres to the county and to lift a restriction that limits the Criss Cross property to park use.

The $55,700, Hathaway said, goes into the county’s Capital Improvement Fund where a park development fund already exists.

The county’s proposed Capital Improvement Plan for the next fiscal year contains $200,000 earmarked for starting development on the Pine Fork site. That figure, however, is not set in stone and could be cut during supervisors’ budget deliberations over the next few weeks.

The next step, meanwhile, is to solicit county residents’ recommendation for the planning stages of the Pine Fork Road park, said county parks and recreation director Kim Turner.

“Basically, we want to involve the community and see what they want,” she said after Monday’s meeting.

“Based on the feedback on needs we get from the community, the [county Parks and Recreation Advisory] Commission will create a master plan,” she said.

Expected to be in the plan are designated areas for team sports such as baseball, softball, and soccer along with “passive elements” that include playgrounds and walking trails.

“It’s very early and we’re in the infancy of the program,” she said. “Once the deed goes through, work with the commission will begin.”