J. TODD FOSTER: Our Foresight On Ball Park Land Deal Was 20/20

Like the proverbial blind hog that occasionally finds the acorn or the stopped clock that’s right twice a day, this newspaper’s editorial position every once in awhile is spot on, if not prophetic.
Take the Washington County-Abingdon land deal and proposed sports complex off Interstate 81.
Late Thursday, the Washington County Board of Supervisors finally questioned the project’s legitimacy and its estimated price tag of $6 million to $8 million.
ALSO AT issue is the town of Abingdon’s desire to be equal owners and managers of the recreation facility, but its willingness to only pony up 30 percent of the project cost. (Washington County supervisors voted 6-0 Thursday to require Abingdon to pay half, but Supervisor Tom Taylor conceded the partnership could be on the rocks.)
What was conceived as a 40-acre project at less than $25,000 an acre grew to 60 acres at $40,000 an acre in a deal this newspaper questioned pointedly six months ago.
Washington County leaders deserve credit for seeing the light – albeit a bit late.
“I WOULD just hope that this board never gets into a situation like this again because we certainly have the cart before the horse,” Supervisor Dulcie Mumpower said late Thursday. “We should’ve sat down to discuss these details. ... It was just a mistake, and I think everyone was just anxious to have a sports complex, and we failed to see out far enough in the future to know we need to work details out.”
Supervisor Paul Price conceded that the land developers – Clifton-Stewart – steamrolled the board last year by telling members to act quickly because a third party was willing to pay more.
County Administrator Mark Reeter also warned the board last October, “Because of the nature of real estate, it might not be on the market that much longer.”
FAMOUS LAST words.
Supporters of this fishy land deal also built their argument last year around some bogus Little League rule. They suggested, wrongly, that Abingdon teams could not play at a complex outside the town’s Little League boundary.
Gloating is not becoming, so I shan’t do it. But I did go back in our archives to find a Nov. 30 editorial.
“THE DECISION to spend $2.37 million in taxpayers’ money to buy prime land for a sports complex near Abingdon is looking more premature each day,” the editorial said. “First, there’s the not-so-minor matter of the exorbitant purchase price and the hasty rush to sign the papers. Now, county leaders are at loggerheads about the complex’s use and the planned partnership with the town of Abingdon. These aren’t trivial issues. They should have been resolved before the contract was inked.
“... As the county and town were preparing to leap eyes-wide-shut into this deal, we warned against it,” the editorial said. “We advised the leaders to slow down and count the costs. To no avail. ... The county and town rushed into a land purchase without time for debate or dissent, and the chickens are coming home to roost.”
Taylor, who joined the board after his November election win, put forward a solid idea at Thursday night’s meeting.
HE SUGGESTED that if the partnership splits, the county should consider moving the sports complex east down I-81 and partnering with Smyth County. One of the project’s main criticisms all along has been that it favored the town of Abingdon to the expense of the rest of Washington County. And the farther you get from Abingdon, the cheaper the land.
Taylor’s idea should be explored.
Meanwhile, the town of Abingdon and Washington County would be well advised to sell the land back to Clifton-Stewart, who claimed last year it could have fetched even more money from a Richmond development company eyeing a possible retirement community.
WE’RE ALL for capitalism, so Clifton-Stewart should have ever opportunity to make an even greater profit on this 60-acre parcel and, as a goodwill gesture, unwrap this financial albatross from the taxpayers’ neck.
Meanwhile, Supervisor Tony Rector, who did not run for re-election, was the only Washington County board member to oppose the land deal last fall.
“I think you should look into things pretty thorough before you start spending $2.37 million for it,” he said last November.
Talk about 20-20 foresight.

J. Todd Foster is managing editor of the Bristol Herald Courier and can be reached at jfoster@bristolnews.com or (276) 645-2513.