LONG SAULT, Ontario – A plot of land in Long Sault that has long been valued as a community park has returned to public domain after being purchased by local development company J.F. Markell Homes Ltd.
The land, located next to the Long Sault Fire Hall, was purchased by J.F. Markell Homes from the Township of South Stormont for $90,000.
An ad was placed in the Cornwall Seaway News by the Township of South Stormont for a Request for Proposal to develop the land behind the fire hall, referred to as the Barnhart property, on Dec. 10, 2015.
When the public learned in April 2018 that the land had been sold, a Facebook group was created called Save the Long Sault Park and Forest that urged South Stormont Township Council to reconsider its decision to sell the land.
At a Township Council meeting on Wednesday, May 23, Council revealed that it had been discussing the situation with the developer and had come to a new understanding. J.F. Markell Homes had offered to donate Parts 1 and 2 of the property back to the Township.
“Working closely with the Township, coupled with feedback from the community, we were able to redesign the subdivision to not require that parcel of land,” said Alex Markell, Sales Project Manager with J.F. Markell Homes Ltd. “Being a participating member in the community, we felt it would be best to donate the land back.”
The Township had originally planned to use the revenue from the sale of the land to build a new park near the Long Sault Arena, now instead it will put that money into its Land Inventory Surplus Reserve to buy future properties.
The Township will be using funding from the Federal Gas Tax to develop a plan for how it will use the land they have re-acquired and how they will develop a new park for Long Sault.
The Council passed a by-law at the May 23 meeting to approve the donation of the land and the plan to create a new park for Long Sault.
