The Conservancy for Cuyahoga Valley National Park's purchase of the Brandywine Country Club golf course by is drawing opposition from Peninsula officials.
Conservancy President and CEO Deb Yandala says CVNP has been eying the golf course for a long time.
“The National Park Service identified this property as being really important to preserve and protect actually many years ago when it was still a golf course,” she said.
The National Park Service plans to purchase 192 acres of the 207-acre property from the Conservancy, which will hold onto the rest. But Peninsula Mayor Daniel Schneider Jr. is less than pleased with this plan. He had hoped for a developer to purchase the property, and now says the village has lost another 14% of its taxable land.
“None of that land is taxable, and the federal government contributes nothing as far as infrastructure to help repair the roads,” he said.
Schneider worries the village’s finances will worsen with the new park land.
“My 600 residents and 295 households are responsible for managing and taking care of the roads and then the protection of the people in the park without any contribution,” he said.
Schneider says the village is already operating on a shoestring budget and worries extra visitors to the addition to the park will make the situation worse.
