Germantown takes first step toward new park, athletic fields
The Germantown Board of Mayor and Aldermen voted Monday to approve the purchase and sale agreement of about 44 acres of land, taking the first step toward a new park and recreational athletic fields.
The board voted 3-2 to acquire the land on Crestwyn Hills Drive to advance the parkland acquisition recommendations in Germantown’s Comprehensive Parks and Recreation Master Plan.
Alderman Dean Massey made a motion to postpone the vote to 2021 so the new aldermen could decide, but the proposition did not pass. Massey and Alderman Scott Sanders voted against the agreement.
“We are grateful for the board’s support of the parkland acquisition option contract thus enabling the first steps toward launching our comprehensive parks master plan,” Mayor Mike Palazzolo said.
The approval pays the title insurance company Forest Hill Associates $10,000 in earnest money and begins Germantown’s due diligence inspection process.
The board will vote in early 2021 on vendors to perform tests and assessments on the land to determine if it meets all criteria. If the surveyors determine the land unfit for the new park, the city can terminate the agreement and receive a full refund.
The Germantown Parks and Recreation Commission reviewed other sites but recommended in January to purchase the south Germantown land.
The board will review the $2.31 million final purchase during the 2022 budget approval process.
The master plan was created to evaluate and improve the residents’ parks and recreation needs. The plan guides the parks’ futures from 2018 to 2038.
“The land within our city is extremely limited, we certainly need to do our due diligence,” Alderman Rocky Janda said. “I want to stress that this is just one of the first steps of the fulfillment of our 2018 parks and rec master plan.”