lettertotheeditor
Flaws cited in Town’s McFee purchase
I want to share some of the financial realities of the pending Town deal to purchase 55 acres of park land. In December 2020, the landowners purchased five parcels with approximately 376 acres to the south and west of McFee Park into Loudon County.
The purchase price for that land was $6,127,500, or roughly $16,297 per acre. Two-and-a-half years later, they agreed to sell 55 acres (and donate 15 acres for a road easement) to the Town of Farragut for $5,500,000 or roughly $78,571 per acre.
Based on these numbers, the Town of Farragut will pay 89.9 percent of the original cost of the entire 376 acres just three years after the original purchase in December 2020. The $78,571 per acre represents a 382 percent increase in value for these 70 acres.
If you look at this area, you also realize that the portion of the property the Town is purchasing is heavily wooded and will be the most expensive part of the land to clear and develop. Has the Town looked into and considered these future costs?
As well, part of this development will require a road roughly a half-mile long to be cut through this heavily wooded property. Once that road is connected, the sellers will get additional access to their other 300-plus acres. Roughly 128 acres are in Loudon County, and the Town of Farragut will have no control over how it will be developed.
Best-case scenario is this will be around 200 homes; worst case it could be close to 750–to-900-plus apartments at roughly 10-to-12 units per acre, accounting for 35 percent open space. Looking at this area, the path of least resistance for traffic will be to McFee Road from Allen Kirby Road and the new road into this area.
Personally, I don’t understand the rational for yet another park in this particular area of Town. We already have a large park just to the north of this site. Why not invest in a large park in our Mixed-Use Town Center (MUTC) area that focuses on our history? For example, the Battle of Campbell Station historic park.
We are getting ready to discuss the MUTC area, and this is a good time to plan for a large gathering place in the center of Town. Large community events could be hosted there, which would provide better support for our local small businesses and restaurants, and provide that sense of community we desire. The roughly half an acre next to the apartments on Biddle Farm is not nearly enough for future community-wide events.
Or, instead of purchasing land, why not use that $5.5M to address current traffic and safety issues on McFee Road and in other areas of Town. The Town has said the park is 10 years away and I appreciate their willingness to look into the future. However, I wish Town leadership would listen to the residents of McFee and Virtue roads and focus on our existing traffic safety problems in the area.
The Town entered into this deal without any outreach to the public. Most people were not aware of it unless you happened to be sitting in on the budget workshops a few months ago. Town officials ought to meet during the current 90-day review period to ensure residents support this expenditure.
Michael Wilson, Farragut
