WOOD RIVER - At 7 p.m. Thursday, a public hearing will be held on whether or not to allow the City of Wood River to separate a 10-acre portion of Belk Park for a proposed wedding venue. One resident has already voiced their opposition to the plan, and more residents may voice their opinions at tonight’s hearing.
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Resident Brian Mallory spoke against the proposal at the Wood River City Council meeting on Monday and claimed part of the proposal was to “donate the land to a for-profit developer to build a wedding venue.” Councilman Bill Dettmers said he has heard no mention of the land being “donated” to the developer, but confirmed that the plans were for a wedding venue to be built on 10 acres located toward the front of Belk Park along Rock Hill Road.
Mallory also claimed that part of the deal would include the construction of a hotel near highways 255 and 143, but Dettmers said this is not part of the proposal being discussed tonight. Any approval for the actual sale of the land, much less the construction of a hotel, would have to be approved through separate voting processes.
“There’s nothing on the agenda for the sale tonight or in the near future,” Dettmers said. “This is just a preliminary hearing for the subdivision of this particular part of the park, which could set up a sale sometime in the future.”
Dettmers said he expects more information to be made available tonight and that he looks forward to hearing from the community on this topic.
“I’m looking forward to hearing from the community as to their reaction to this and what they think of it, because as a council member, they have an equal interest in this as I do, and I want to hear what they have to say about any proposed sale that might come in the future,” he said.
The hearing tonight will not see any votes cast - it is simply to discuss whether or not the subdivision of the land should be recommended to the City Council. If the commission recommends it to the council, it will be voted on for final approval at their meeting on Monday, August 7.
Tune in to Riverbender.com or the Riverbender.com Facebook page to watch the meeting live tonight at 7 p.m.
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