Reservoir Plans No More: Current And Future Use Of County’s Sells Lane Property

By LYDIA BERGLAR
News Editor

In Dec. 2018, the Dade County Water and Sewer Authority and Dade County Board of Commissioners purchased 61 acres along Sells Lane with plans to use it for a reservoir. The land has been sitting for almost seven years with no official word from the county about the reservoir’s status.

Throughout his final term as county executive, Ted Rumley maintained that the land would be used for a reservoir, but he left details and timelines hazy. When the current commissioners and Don Townsend (county executive) took office this year, nothing was said about the reservoir plans until the April 9 special called meeting. (See the April 16 Sentinel.)

In that meeting, Bob Woods (District Three commissioner) and Stephen Bontekoe (executive director of Limestone Valley Resource Conservation & Development Council) both mentioned the abandoned reservoir plans, but no one else touched on the topic.

Some land clearing has happened on the property, someone grew corn and pumpkins, the county hosted an elementary school pumpkin patch day the last two years (and perhaps will again this year), and the property is open to the public, but beyond that, the land’s status and purpose has remained unclear for years.

Therefore, the Sentinel sat down with Townsend at the start of this summer to get the rundown on plans for the land. After months of time-sensitive topics filling the Sentinel, we’re at last turning our attention back to the Sells Lane property.

If you’d like to catch up on pieces of its complicated history, refer to these past Sentinel issues:

• Oct. 27, 2021: “Water Authority Decides Against Reservoir Project”
• July 13, 2022: “Dade County Commissioners Vote 3-2 To Assume Ownership Of Sells Lane Property”
• Oct. 19, 2022: “Threat Of Suit Says County Failed To Build Reservoir, Piers, Fences”

Regarding this third article, the Sentinel asked Townsend for an update on the lawsuit. He said, “I guess I didn’t know we had a lawsuit against the county. That’s news. I’d have to ask Robin [Rogers]. I haven’t heard anything about it.”

The Sentinel then submitted an open records request asking for documents that show the resolution of the lawsuit, but Rogers’ answer said that there are no documents related to the request. Therefore, it appears that Wallace Jack Sells, Jr., did not file the lawsuit.

The Sentinel explained to Townsend that it is unclear what the property should be called. It’s been referred to as both the reservoir land and the Sells Land property by the Sentinel and the general public, but with seemingly no plans for a reservoir, the former is inaccurate. Townsend said that he’s started referring to the land as Sitton’s Mill Recreational Area because “we would like to see recreation expanded over there, and we know that Sitton’s Mill has historic significance in Dade County.”

He noted that this is his personal idea and does not represent the entire board of commissioners because the property hasn’t been discussed together by the current board.

However, he added, “I think it’s something that we should bring up within the next six months to a year and figure out what the whole long-term plan is. We were trying to come up with a solution for Sitton’s Mill over the years where water has moved those big rocks. It’s not going to cause any major water problems, but we’ve talked about putting some kind of walking bridge in for people to get from one side to the other.”

The Sentinel asked for a rough estimate of how much the county still owes on the property. Townsend didn’t know the exact number, but he reported that it appraised for $500,000, and when the county picked up the payments from the water authority, about $355,000 was still due.

He said the monthly payments (with a very low interest rate) come from the general fund. Per the Sentinel’s July 2022 article, the interest rate is 0.21 percent, and payments came out to $1,412.22 per month. Therefore, the county should still owe a little over $300,000.

The Sentinel asked Townsend if he’d like to provide a recap of the history from his perspective. He answered, “The Sentinel has recorded it well, reported it well, and I don’t know of anything I could say that’s any different than what’s already been reported.”

That being said, he gave the following recap. “There were hopes, originally of course, of a reservoir. Since then and even since I’ve taken office, we’ve been told that the soil is not conducive to holding water. If that’s the case, we can’t put a lake there. I would love to see a big lake for recreational purposes. Plus, just having a secondary source of water—it wouldn’t be a lot of water, but it’d be some that could be used in cases of emergency.”

The Sentinel asked whether or not growth in the county indicates a true need for a reservoir, saying, “According to the Census, we’re not growing, so the study that the water authority did found that there’s no need for the reservoir. Are you imagining that if that were to change in ten, twenty, or thirty years, that at some point we may need a reservoir, or are you saying that we need one now?”

Townsend explained that he isn’t saying we need one now, but, “We need to be looking down the road all the time regarding water—as well as sewer—not only for economic development, but we need to know what we’re facing in the future. Water is the life of all the county. We do have access to Tennessee American on the north end, but I think there’s challenges even with that.”

He said digging wells is also a possibility.

Ultimately, however, he said the responsibility falls on the water authority who could present proposals for improvement to the county and city.

The Dade County Water and Sewer Authority (like the Industrial Development Authority) partners with the county and city but is independent from the elected boards. Townsend said, “We do appoint board members and appreciate the reporting back to the commission.”

After making it clear that the reservoir will not happen in the foreseeable future, Townsend said, “What are we going to do with the land? That’s a good question.”

He noted that the process to make improvements through the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ program (refer to the April 16 Sentinel) may take a few years or might not happen at all. However, he would love to pay off the remaining balance for the land through this program.

“We’re looking to do whatever protects the creek. It’s not about the money, but if there’s money involved, I’d love to take those funds and pay off the note that’s owed on the property and anything to do with the community forest land. Any kind of money we can raise through selling of tax credits and/or grants, that’s how I want to pay for the community forest land.”

The Sentinel asked why the property wasn’t sold once it became clear that a reservoir wasn’t feasible, but Townsend said that topic hadn’t been discussed. “I’m not going to say that we can’t put some of it back on the tax rolls at some point, but that’s a decision for the whole board of commissioners.” He thinks portions could be sold, but the majority is in a flood plain, bringing down the land’s value.

His personal preference is to at least keep the Sitton’s Mill part for creek access as well as historical preservation. He listed recreation possibilities like water sports, fishing, picnics, playgrounds, and walking trails.

The Sentinel clarified that even if the Dade County Community Forest wasn’t a possibility at all, Townsend would still be in favor of keeping the land. He confirmed that this is his position.

In the time since the Sentinel last spoke with Townsend about the reservoir/Sells Lane property, a couple citizens mentioned other questions and concerns about the property. Here is a summary of their questions:

• Who is supposed to keep it mowed, and how often? [They noted that sometimes the land hasn’t been kept up enough to make it accessible or inviting.]
• Who is allowed to use that land to grow crops, and where can the public see the details of that arrangement? Do we pay them? Does that person sell that hay? Since it came from public land, shouldn’t the public get money from that? [The citizens specifically wondered about the person who grew corn on the land and presumably profited from the crop, as well as bales of hay/grass.]
• The land sale contract had extreme concessions, including Jack Sells being able to use the land as if it was his own until the reservoir was built. Since the reservoir is not going to happen, does that mean he got our money AND is the only one who gets to use the land?

We could write a book about all the details of the purchase contract and ensuing lease agreements, but without going that in depth, the Sentinel can confirm that the citizens’ third point is based on details in the written contracts.

Overall, these questions show that concerns about the original sale and lease agreements as well as current land usage abound, but information readily available to the public is limited.