Amherst could build new park if given state-owned land

Amherst County plans to develop a park with trails and a fishing pier if the General Assembly agrees to give the county a 31-acre site facing the James River in Madison Heights.

Del. Ben Cline, R-Rockbridge County, is sponsoring legislation that would give the state-owned riverfront to Amherst County.

The planned park “would be a game-changer for Old Madison Heights” and efforts to renew that part of the community, said Claudia Tucker, a member of the Amherst County Board of Supervisors.

Cline, who represents most of Amherst County, said the site includes an old sewage facility, and the state has no further plans to use the land. 

Tucker said the county paid to remove the sewage tank several years ago, but didn’t want to invest any more money because it didn’t own the 31-acre parcel. It adjoins land known as the Smiley Block property, which Amherst County obtained in the 1990s.

The park plans “languished for awhile,” but the current Board of Supervisors wants to act on the project, according to Tucker and Frank Campbell, the board chairman.

The site is beside the U.S. 29 Business route where it crosses the river into Amherst County. The acreage is located on the downstream side of the bridge, and already has a boat launching ramp.

The land also adjoins the Central Virginia Training Center in Madison Heights.

Tucker said Amherst County, with help from Rep. Robert Goodlatte, R-6th District, qualified for a federal grant through a transportation funding act in the 1990s. The grant money is being held in Washington, Tucker said. Amherst County doesn’t plan to spend any local tax dollars on the park project, she said.

Trails on the site possibly could connect to the Amherst portion of the Blackwater Creek trail, Tucker said, and the fishing pier is expected to be accessible for people with handicaps.

Cline’s measure, HB 240, would authorize the state Department of Conservation and Recreation to convey the land to Amherst County.

The bill requires the property “be maintained and open to public recreational use,” or else returned to the state.

Tucker said the county already has approved contracts to begin construction work on the park’s trails.

The Department of Conservation and Recreation would make the transfer “upon terms and conditions that the Department deems proper,” the legislation says.

The bill will be considered in the House Committee on Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources.