Snowden sale delayed
Source: thepost.baker.ohiou.edu, by Ashley Luthern
January 09, 2007
The possible sale and private development of Hocking College’s Lake Snowden property has stalled, and each of the parties involved attributes the halt to a different cause.
Representatives for the proposed developer, Moondance Development, say the project is on hold pending the resolution of legal matters.
Dr. John Light, president of Hocking College, said the project has stalled because Moondance has yet to offer a formal proposal.
“I go to trustee meetings with nothing to tell the board members,” he said.
Moondance Development approached Hocking College in August with plans to buy or lease 200 acres of the Lake Snowden property along Route 50 in Albany and to build houses, condominiums, a fitness center and chapel.
The Ohio Department of Natural Resources is offering an alternative to the proposed sale: the Division of Wildlife within the ODNR is interested in purchasing the lake.
“Our primary interest is retaining the hunting and fishing opportunities. We want to guarantee fishing is available 24/7, 365 days a year,” said Jim Marshall, manager at the District 4 Division of Wildlife in Athens. “We would work cooperatively with Hocking to maintain operations as is.”
Officials from ODNR, which partners with Hocking College to maintain Lake Snowden, hoped that if there were monetary concerns about the property, the college would have discussed it with them before talking with developers, Marshall said.
The developers have said part of the land would remain open to the public for fishing, hunting and camping.
In October, the Division of Parks and Recreation within the ODNR tried to sell Strouds Run State Park to the city of Athens in order to save money. Purchasing part of Lake Snowden is possible because the Division of Wildlife would be the entity to buy the land, not the Division of Parks and Recreation, Marshall said.
The purchase would be feasible because the Division of Wildlife is funded by the sale of hunting and fishing licenses and federal aid from taxes on guns and fishing tackles, while the Division of Parks and Recreation is funded primarily by appropriated tax dollars, he said.
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