W.Va. State wants to take control of Shawnee Park

West Virginia State University wants to take over the managementof Shawnee Park from the Kanawha County Parks and RecreationDepartment.

The university and Kanawha County Commission are working on aproposal that would allow West Virginia State to assume totalmanagement and maintenance duties at the park located at Institute.

The agreement must meet the approval of the county Parks andRecreation Board.

After a Thursday commission meeting, Commission President KentCarper said county taxpayers could save more than $100,000 a year ifthe university takes over the park.

"This will be great for the community and the taxpayers," Carpersaid.

"To have a land-grant institution take over the park and utilizeit for its students and the community - it's a great fit."

Under the proposal, the county would still own the land whereShawnee is located.

In a statement released by the university, West Virginia StatePresident Hazo Carter said, "We are prepared to offer managerialservices. We are not looking at ownership at this time."

Carper said this current proposal is a positive step for theuniversity to claim full ownership of the park in the future.

Carper and Carter have been discussing a possible takeover formore than a year.

In April 2006, the two men met to discuss a joint management plan.

Since then, Carter has appeared twice before the commission andeach time alluded to the university wanting to manage the facilities.

The school already uses the park for offices for the staff of theWest Virginia State University Land-Grant Extension program.

The staff provides activities at the park, including 4-H clubs,musical arts enrichment, dietary programs for seniors, and otherhealth and wellness promotions for all ages.

The proposal states the university would manage all facilitiesincluding the clubhouse, shelters, fields, baseball courts, tenniscourts and pool.

West Virginia State and the commission would work together toprovide an active police presence at the park.

The university and the parks department would also set up anaccount to deposit revenue from all rental facilities to be used inupgrades for parks facilities.

In the second phase of the project, the parks department wouldhelp the university learn the operations of the golf course.

It will keep its four full-time employees at the course and theworkers would remain county employees, not university employees.

County Commissioner Hoppy Shores, who acts as the commissionrepresentative on the parks board, said the deal would be verybeneficial to the parks department.

"As long as the property will maintain the same activities for thecommunity, I think the parks board will seriously consider approvingthis plan," Shores said.

Shawnee is one of six parks the county operates. The others areCoonskin, Meadowood, Big Bend, Pioneer, and the Wallace HartmanNature Preserve.

Shawnee, Big Bend and Coonskin, have golf courses. Earlier thisyear the county sold Sandy Brae Golf Course to a local businessmanfor $715,000.

The money was used to pay off all debts for the parks department.

For the first time ever, the parks department is debt free, Carpersaid.

If the Shawnee deal goes through, Carper said the parks departmentcould further enhance its financial status.

"They can remain debt free without us having to raise any taxes,"Carper said.

Contact writer Matthew Thompson at matthewthompson@dailymail.comor 348- 4834.