| 11/16/2009 4:39:00 PM | Email this article • Print this article | Softball, baseball complex looking more likely
Danielle Arndt
Thursday, Kent County Commissioners will hear a proposal to sell 80 acres of land off 10 Mile Road in Rockford near the former landfill to the West Michigan Sports Commission (WMSC).
Kent County's Department of Public Works voted unanimously last week to sell the property for $400,000, which is what the county paid for the land, said District 6 Commissioner Arthur Tanis.
The sports commission would have two years to come up with the funding for the land and the facility itself, Tanis said.
"If they can't get it in two years, we will give them another year for (an additional) $5,000," he said.
Sports commission officials had hoped the county would donate the land or permit them to lease it for $1 per acre. But Tanis said the land was purchased by funds collected from county rate payers who pay a monthly fee for garbage and waste management services.
"Since we did not pay for the property with tax dollars, we had to ensure (the rate payers) got their money back - that we recouped that money we spent somehow," he said, adding $400,000 is an excellent price for the property. "It's virgin land. Nothing has ever been built on it. There is no contamination. It is as pure as can be."
WMSC Executive Director Mike Guswiler said he believes this is a very fair opportunity.
"All of the Kent County officials we've encountered - the DPW, the finance committee - everyone has been very agreeable and great to work with," he said. "I can just hope that (Thursday) all goes well."
Guswiler said, typically, a municipal agent covers the land cost and owns and operates the facility, so this is an unusual situation for the sports commission.
"It's really a sign of the economic times," he said.
He added the property in Rockford, however, was the most ideal for their plans so they decided to push forward. Guswiler said it is unknown whether the commission will continue to look for a management entity or will run the operation itself.
"Those stages and steps we still need to determine," he said.
Tanis, who chaired the county Finance and Physical Resources subcommittee that evaluated the feasibility of the proposal, said when looking at the economic benefits to the local community, it was hard to say no. The 12-field combination baseball/softball complex is forecasted to draw around 80 teams per weekend throughout the summer months. WMSC told Kent County officials it would put close to 50,000 heads in beds in local hotels.
"This land has been for sale for several years," Tanis said. "Quite frankly, we haven't had any bites on it. And the county really has no viable need or use for it."
He said Kent County purchased the property in 1982 for landfill expansion. But officials soon decided they no longer liked the location of the landfill and capped it in 1988. A county transfer station is still located at the site.
Improvements to 10 Mile Road would be necessary, should plans for the sports complex move forward, Tanis said. Among the improvements being discussed is a traffic light at 10 Mile and Wolven.
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