Talks on proposed athletic complex continue
by Larry S. Chowning
The decision in December by Middlesex County supervisors to purchase 35.4 acres of land for $530,000 next to the closed county landfill at Stormont appears to have created an urgency among some county officials to also borrow funds to build the Syd Thrift Athletic Complex at Middlesex High School.
The county is going to have to borrow the funds to purchase the landfill land and, according to county administrator Charles Culley, it will be more cost effective to borrow enough money to also build the athletic complex.
At a board of supervisors meeting Tuesday night, Culley indicated that if all funds are borrowed through bonds from the county’s Industrial Development Authority (IDA) at one time, the county will save on legal and closing fees, etc. If the county borrowed to buy the landfill land and then later borrowed again to pay for the athletic complex, the legal and closing fees would have to be paid twice.
County attorney Mike Soberick suggested that borrowing money to purchase the land next to the landfill may be more easily obtainable if it’s combined with funding the athletic complex. “The quality of the bond issue would be much more attractive if you had something else besides the land next to the landfill [to use as collateral],” he said.
Saluda District supervisor Pete Mansfield said the county should not rush into borrowing funds for the athletic complex. He noted there are other ways to borrow funds without using IDA bonds, which would eliminate the urgency of the situation, until other sports complex plans can be proposed to the board.
Mansfield suggested borrowing the money on a one-year promisary note, which would give him and others more time to see more planning and perhaps come up with a less expensive project at the high school.
Hartfield supervisor Carlton Revere reminded Mansfield the issue of upgrading the high school athletic fields has been on the table for five years and there have been three public meetings on the matter. “How much more time do we need?” he asked.
The county has been considering upgrading the high school sports facilities for over five years. In the meantime, the high school sports fields have continued to deteriorate as school officials await a decision on the new Syd Thrift Athletic Complex.
Several years ago, a high school coach suggested that they name the proposed athletic complex at MHS after Syd Thrift, a Middlesex native who served in many administrative roles in Major League baseball. Thrift died unexpectedly during a knee operation several years ago.
The proposed sports complex was, in part, to honor Thrift for his contributions to sports and his ties to Middlesex, but also to encourage contributions from his many associates and others who knew and admired him.
The original plan was for the complex to be built with mostly private funds. Later, county supervisors determined this was not feasible because of state and county procurement laws that don’t allow private funds to be used in construction on public school grounds. It was determined some private funds could be used to support the project, such as buying equipment for certain sports, etc.
A Syd Thrift Sports Complex Committee was formed and they presented a proposal for a new athletic complex that carried a price tag of $2.8 to $3.5 million. This cost estimate is lower than the first $5 million plan suggested.
Over the past three years, the proposal has been discussed at public meetings. Proponents have encouraged the board to move on the matter and take advantage of low interest rates and lower construction costs during these hard economic times.
However, a group named “Concerned Citizens of Middlesex County” is circulating a petition that states, “We the undersigned registered voters of Middlesex County hereby petition the Board of Supervisors of Middlesex County to put the final decision regarding the proposed Syd Thrift Athletic Facility to a yes or no ballot voted by all registered voters of the county.”
Members of the group complained publicly at Tuesday’s meeting that an article in the January 5 issue of the Southside Sentinel misrepresented them in that it suggested that those signing the petition were opposed to the proposed sports complex.
Citizens group member Dan Downs stated there are all kinds of people signing the petition, many of whom are in favor of the sports complex.
Johnny Fleet, a member of the Syd Thrift Committee, said it is time to make a decision on this matter and his committee has done everything possible to present a fair and fiscally-sound plan to the supervisors.
