On Tuesday night, council voted 6-1 to earmark up to $1 million for a new park, but it’s still unclear exactly where this property may be. City Manager Becky Hawke explained to the council that they need to seek help from other sources to make it happen.
“If we were able to pull this together, we would be able to acquire a fairly notable tract of land where the property owner is interested in seeing it preserved for a future park space," she said.
But the cost is well above what the city can do alone. To that end, the resolution directs staff to set aside $1 million for the acquisition and to seek a 1:1 match from New Hanover County.
Staff can also seek grant funding to make the deal happen, and the city plans to make a grant request to the Endowment.
Councilman Kevin Spears was the sole vote against this item, but the deal is likely to move forward — if the county is on board.
As WHQR reported last week, several county commissioners have signaled tentative interest, but said they wanted more details about the property and the plan – details which were still scarce after Tuesday’s meeting.
