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National battlefield park proposal raised by mayor
By CLINT CONFEHR / Review Appeal Senior Staff Reporter
As Franklin intends to spend $8 million to buy a horse farm and preserve its heritage, the mayor wants to spend $2.5 million more to preserve parts of the Franklin Battlefield.
Aldermen on Tuesday night voted 7-1 to buy Harlinsdale, a 200-acre horse farm on the west side of Franklin Road. Its scenic vista is to be preserved, as is its rich history with Tennessee Walking Horses.
Yesterday, Mayor Tom Miller said if preservationists and Civil War buffs can raise $2.5 million to help buy land for a battlefield park, then the city board should match that to buy the Country Club of Franklin. If half can’t be raised privately, then the city board should move on to other business.
In that vein, Miller has outlined for Franklin’s aldermen a way to create a national battlefield park here including donation of city and privately held properties as well as public-private acquisition of the golf course on Lewisburg Pike.
Miller consulted with Rod and Kay Heller in Washington, D.C., recently about their ownership of the golf course, and with legislative aides for U.S. Sens. Bill Frist and Lamar Alexander, and U.S. Reps. Marsha Blackburn, Lincoln Davis and Zack Wamp.
“The creation of a national battlefield park in Franklin is a possibility, but not without a great deal of time and effort on everyone’s part,” Miller said. “The approximately 100 acres of the Country Club of Franklin ... would have to be an integral part of such a plan.”
Franklin could donate Winstead Hill and Fort Granger, and privately held parts of the battlefield could also be donated, Miller said. Although he was not specific, an example may be Collins’ Farm on Lewisburg Pike near the country club.
The Hellers purchased the country club property and continued a lease to the business but said they won’t hold the land forever, although they’re offering the city and preservation groups an option to purchase the land set for development with homes by its previous owner.
“They want nonrefundable monies as consideration for the term of the option,” Miller said of what could be a two-year contract he plans to present to the Budget and Finance Advisory Committee.
The city and preservationists ought to pay the Hellers $100,000 a year each to cover the landowners’ debt service, the mayor said.
While the mayor hadn’t discussed an amount for the earnest money with the Hellers, he told aldermen, “It will need to be in the $200,000 range” with half from the city and half from private sources.
Heller bought the land for $5 million in 2003. That price to buy the land from the Hellers would be split between the city and private sources.
“The city, subject to the consensus of the Board of Mayor and Aldermen, would match the money raised by the coalition,” Miller said of money needed to buy the golf course.
Miller and City Administrator Jay Johnson also met with officials of the National Park Service’s American Battlefield Preservation Program, who are familiar with Franklin and welcome the chance to provide technical assistance, Johnson said.
Miller last Friday met with the Franklin-based Coalition for the Preservation of Historic Open Space, a gathering of all preservation organizations in Williamson County and nearby.
Miller plans to “challenge them to raise half the money necessary to acquire theand fund any other development costs in the creation of a Franklin National Battlefield Park,” the mayor told aldermen.
Miller’s challenge isn’t new but it’s documented in a memo and the enthusiasm he showed to more than a dozen preservationists on Friday.
“We’re very lucky to have Tom Miller,” said Robert Hicks, one of the co-chairs with Nashville-area attorney Julian Bibb of the Coalition for the Preservation of Historic Open Space. Nearly 7,500 people visit Franklin annually for Civil War tourism, while 200,000 visit Murfreesboro because of the Stones River National Battlefield, Hicks said. That’s a source of revenue for the city from people who spend more than the average tourist.
National battlefield park proposal raised by mayor
By CLINT CONFEHR / Review Appeal Senior Staff Reporter
As Franklin intends to spend $8 million to buy a horse farm and preserve its heritage, the mayor wants to spend $2.5 million more to preserve parts of the Franklin Battlefield.
Aldermen on Tuesday night voted 7-1 to buy Harlinsdale, a 200-acre horse farm on the west side of Franklin Road. Its scenic vista is to be preserved, as is its rich history with Tennessee Walking Horses.
Yesterday, Mayor Tom Miller said if preservationists and Civil War buffs can raise $2.5 million to help buy land for a battlefield park, then the city board should match that to buy the Country Club of Franklin. If half can’t be raised privately, then the city board should move on to other business.
In that vein, Miller has outlined for Franklin’s aldermen a way to create a national battlefield park here including donation of city and privately held properties as well as public-private acquisition of the golf course on Lewisburg Pike.
Miller consulted with Rod and Kay Heller in Washington, D.C., recently about their ownership of the golf course, and with legislative aides for U.S. Sens. Bill Frist and Lamar Alexander, and U.S. Reps. Marsha Blackburn, Lincoln Davis and Zack Wamp.
“The creation of a national battlefield park in Franklin is a possibility, but not without a great deal of time and effort on everyone’s part,” Miller said. “The approximately 100 acres of the Country Club of Franklin ... would have to be an integral part of such a plan.”
Franklin could donate Winstead Hill and Fort Granger, and privately held parts of the battlefield could also be donated, Miller said. Although he was not specific, an example may be Collins’ Farm on Lewisburg Pike near the country club.
The Hellers purchased the country club property and continued a lease to the business but said they won’t hold the land forever, although they’re offering the city and preservation groups an option to purchase the land set for development with homes by its previous owner.
“They want nonrefundable monies as consideration for the term of the option,” Miller said of what could be a two-year contract he plans to present to the Budget and Finance Advisory Committee.
The city and preservationists ought to pay the Hellers $100,000 a year each to cover the landowners’ debt service, the mayor said.
While the mayor hadn’t discussed an amount for the earnest money with the Hellers, he told aldermen, “It will need to be in the $200,000 range” with half from the city and half from private sources.
Heller bought the land for $5 million in 2003. That price to buy the land from the Hellers would be split between the city and private sources.
“The city, subject to the consensus of the Board of Mayor and Aldermen, would match the money raised by the coalition,” Miller said of money needed to buy the golf course.
Miller and City Administrator Jay Johnson also met with officials of the National Park Service’s American Battlefield Preservation Program, who are familiar with Franklin and welcome the chance to provide technical assistance, Johnson said.
Miller last Friday met with the Franklin-based Coalition for the Preservation of Historic Open Space, a gathering of all preservation organizations in Williamson County and nearby.
Miller plans to “challenge them to raise half the money necessary to acquire the
Miller’s challenge isn’t new but it’s documented in a memo and the enthusiasm he showed to more than a dozen preservationists on Friday.
“We’re very lucky to have Tom Miller,” said Robert Hicks, one of the co-chairs with Nashville-area attorney Julian Bibb of the Coalition for the Preservation of Historic Open Space. Nearly 7,500 people visit Franklin annually for Civil War tourism, while 200,000 visit Murfreesboro because of the Stones River National Battlefield, Hicks said. That’s a source of revenue for the city from people who spend more than the average tourist.
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