By By Kerry Whipple Bean
publisher
Brewton City Council members voted Tuesday to send a clear message to the Brewton City School Board: Dogwood Hills is not for sale.
The school board had hoped to build a new middle school at the site but never submitted a formal proposal to the city. In August, Mayor Ted Jennings said the council was not in favor of selling the property, but the council had not taken a vote because they had no proposal.
Councilman William McGhee proposed the council write the letter.
The council members unanimously approved the proposal to write the letter.
The school board had proposed building a middle school at the Dogwood Hills site if the golf course could be reconfigured in a way to keep nine holes at the site. School board members said they would purchase the entire Dogwood Hills property but lease back the golf course, playground and swimming pool to the city for a nominal fee each year, so that the park could remain open for recreation.
The middle school proposal has sparked dueling petitions — one opposing any changes to the golf course and another encouraging the city to sell the property so that the middle school project can move forward.
School board members have said the Dogwood Hills property is the best site because little grading work would have to be done on the property.
The school board had waited to purchase any land because Wal-Mart was interested in various properties in Brewton for a Supercenter.
The retailer has settled on a site on U.S. 31, just north of the new Walgreens, but no ground has been broken for the project yet.