GREENBRIER — A survey of property that the Greenbrier City Council voted to buy shows less acreage than advertised, but it’s still a good deal, Mayor Sammy Hartwick said.
The Greenbrier City Council voted in July to spend $750,000 to buy 55.75 acres at 42 S. Broadview, but the transaction hit “a little snag,” as Hartwick put it. He said Faulkner County Title Co. found the original paperwork “wasn’t up to snuff.”
Hartwick said he found out Friday that the acreage is “a little bit short,” 54.09 acres instead of the stated 55.75.
“If you take that $750,000 and compare it, … it will be less than what other things are selling for. It’s not a bad price at all,” he said.
The next step after the survey paperwork is completed is to get an appraisal, Hartwick said.
The property is co-owned by Martha Garrett of Texas, whose father, the late Percy Matthews, was a former Greenbrier mayor. He also taught school in Greenbrier in the late 1950s, Hartwick said, and Matthews owned the property then. Also listed as an owner is Garrett’s sister-in-law, Wadette Matthews of Texas, the mayor said.
Hartwick said in an earlier interview that the property has had a “For sale” sign on it for years, and one day he decided to call about the property.
After the city made an offer for the property, the owners agreed to let the city pay half of the cost of the property up front and pay out the balance, Hartwick said. The land joins Same Ole Joe’s Pizza on U.S. 65 “all the way to Glenn Lane where Eastside Elementary is,” he said.
Hartwick said there are several possibilities for the property, such as creating a business park and a city park.
“The community is excited about it; they’re real excited about it,” he said.
Residents gave input in July at a public meeting on potential uses for the land.
“We wrote down all kinds of stuff,” Hartwick said. Ideas for developing the property included building a pavilion; an amphitheater; and walking, nature and bike trails, he said.
“We’re going to take it all into consideration. We’d like to build us a nice city park,” Hartwick said. The current city park is on busy U.S. 65., which isn’t ideal, he said.
City Council member Ty Kelso said the property has a lot of potential, and he mentioned using the land for a city park and a ballpark.
The mayor said that based on how the rest of the process has gone, it will be the end of October before the sale will be finalized.
“It’s been a hurry-up-and-wait deal,” Hartwick said. “We’re still excited about getting it and going on with what we’ve been working on.”
Senior writer Tammy Keith can be reached at (501) 327-0370 or tkeith@arkansasonline.com.