County Postpones Action On New Park For Bratt

March 21, 2008

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A new community park is in the works for the Bratt community. The Escambia County Commission will vote on a land swap on April 3 that will make a 10 year dream a reality.

The commission was expected to approve the land swap Thursday night, but the vote was postponed until the next meeting due to a problem with the legal description of the property, District 5 Commissioner Kevin White said.

“We are not dropping it; we are just postponing it until the next meeting,” White said.

The county is set to trade 57 acres of mostly wetlands that county owns on Hanks Road for 13.19 acres at the corner of West Highway 4 and Bratt Road. The Highway 4 property is currently owened by Kale and Donna Schneider.

“I think this is a great thing,” District 5 Commissioner Kevin White told NorthEscambia.com. “A park in that area has been needed for a long time. This has been 10 years in the making.”

The land swap will end up costing the county only about $9,000. That will leave about $141,000 currently budgeted in White’s discretionary Local Option Sales Tax funds to develop that park. In the beginning, that money will pay for land improvements, playground equipment and a walking trail. Softball fields are part of the ultimate plan for the park, White said. The county’s current Admendment 1 budget crisis will not effect the funding for the park since funds will come from the local sales tax monies.

“It will be a great asset for the community, and we expect the private sector will get involved and help too,” White said. “It provides another park in the north part of the county that the other board members have supported since I have been here.”

The new park, if the land swap is approved by the commission next month, will be located along Highway 4 between Bratt First Baptist Church and Northview High School. The land is currently an open area with just a few very small trees (pictured below). The aerial photo above shows the placement of the property.

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