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On Tuesday, the Troup County Board of Commissioners tabled discussion on an agreement that would have allowed Lovejoy Capital to take the next steps toward developing portions of Pyne Road Park.

In September,  the county received an unsolicited proposal to develop parts of Pyne Road Park. Lovejoy Capital proposed a deal where they would invest upwards of $46 million to build cabins and other camping-style rental units within the park, along with other attractions to bring people to the park.  

The proposed attractions include a hedge maze, a canopy walk, an inclusive playground and expanded bike and hiking trails. 

Because the county only leases and maintains the park, which is owned by the Army Corps of Engineers, any developments at the park would also have to be approved by the corps. The proposed amenities go along with the goals of the park’s master plan to bring people closer to nature, so Lovejoy Capital believes they will be approved.

The proposed public-private partnership agreement has Lovejoy fully funding the improvements at the park. They would then be able to operate and receive revenue from cabin rentals and other amenities in the park. For its part, the county would receive a percentage of those revenues along with increased hotel-motel and sales taxes, as well as other benefits from increased tourism for Troup County.

The agreement considered on Tuesday would not have finalized any plans for the park; it primarily allowed Lovejoy Capital to move forward with contacting and getting approval for the plans from the Army Corps of Engineers.

While the agreement outlined that Lovejoy Capital is responsible for paying for all of the development costs, including necessary roadway improvements on Roanoke Road, the contract also had a clause that the county would have to pay half a million dollars in reimbursement costs if it backs out during the development.

After realizing that the clause caused some concern from the Board of Commissioners, representatives from Lovejoy requested that the clause be removed just before the board meeting, explaining that they had gone far enough along in the process that the clause wasn’t needed anymore.

Murphy Talmadge, Managing Partner at Lovejoy Capital, explained that the clause exists because in the past, they have done costly predevelopment work creating plans, only to have municipalities back out and allow another developer to use their plans. 

The plans for Pyne Road Park are far enough along that the agreement would not be beneficial to Lovejoy, and it potentially caused consternation for the county, so it was simply removed, Talmadge said.

While the commissioners seemed to be happy with the removal of the clause, County Attorney Mark Degennaro recommended tabling consideration of the agreement so that he could fully review any impact it could have on the contract.

The issue was then tabled until the next Board of Commissioners meeting on May 6.