What is Going to Happen at OLF 8?

The BCC had a good discussion today concerning the way forward on OLF 8 in Beulah

Chairman of the Board Lumon May signed the RE Deed today for the OLF 8/OLF X land swap.

This is happening.  At the end of this month, we will own the property in Beulah known as OLF 8.

And now we have two offers on the table for the purchase of OLF 8.  One from Navy Federal Credit Union and one from a private development partnership.

The total of these offers is $22.2 Million dollars, and the county has spent roughly $17.5 Million to acquire this property.  If we were to simply sell this property we would have a windfall of $4.7 Million PLUS our seed money of $17.5 Million back all at once.  This money would be put into LOST categorical funds and it would be available for use on infrastructure projects county-wide, in each of our 5 commission districts.  So we are coming to a head, we are at a decision point.  Something is going to occur.

This all said--------- what is going to happen at OLF 8?

The board discussed this all at today's committee of the whole.

I'm still going to push for the jobs creation aspect of this project--because to just sell 530 acres to a developer would  KILL our $30 Million dollar Triumph jobs project while simultaneously all but guaranteeing that more high-density, high-impact traffic producing residential housing units would be built on the field.  I do not support more residential and neither do the residents that live out in Beulah like I do. These residents know what I know---our infrastructure is not ready and cannot handle any more residential.  We have too much already.

One commissioner made it known that he wants to sell right away, as soon as possible, and recapitalize the public's money. He also stated flatly he did not support economic development incentives from the government. This commissioner is/was alone in this position so far as I could tell from today's discussion.

I would only support doing this (selling the property outright for the highest price we could get) if there were not three votes on the dais to stick with the jobs creation.

Luckily, there are three votes,  as the other four of us want to maintain the focus on job creation and providing some amenities for the community; they want us to follow through with the master planning process utilizing the document we arrived at via compromise two months ago.  This was my takeaway from listening intently to the discussion taking place today.

This is good news for nearby residents who have told me in no uncertain terms that they do not want more traffic-producing, gridlock exacerbating residential housing out here at OLF 8.  They know what I know:  Having 1000 good jobs on the back of the field in nicely designed, attractive facilities and with a predictable traffic flow (8:00AM and 5:00PM) beats the alternative of thousands of high density residential units with multiple cars per unit going every which way all day and night 24-7, 365 days a year.  The jobs project will simply be much easier to accomodate than any more residential given our insufficient existing infrastructure....

Obviously there are folks that wanted no further development.  There are those that hate NFCU.  There are those that wish Beulah today was like Beulah in 1960.   I get that, but I don't have a time machine and this project was rolling down the runway full-speed ahead and with $Millions of Dollars of taxpayer money invested when I joined the board in late 2016.  I inherited this project.  But I am smart enough to see the best way forward in this circumstance is to go the jobs route, demanding some amenities for the residents, and bolstering our existing infrastructure with the resultant grant monies.  This is the intelligent way forward that apparently all but one commissioner sees with crystal clarity...