Franklin, Tenn., Officials Approve $2.5M Matching Funds For Land
By Gregory L. Wade
April 2005
FRANKLIN, Tenn. - By a 7-1 vote, the Franklin Board of
Aldermen approved a measure to provide support to purchase land for a
battlefield park. The 110 acres in question is now occupied by the
Country Club of Franklin and owned by Rod and Kay Heller of
Washington D.C.
Rod Heller, a descendant of the McGavock family who owned the
adjacent Carnton Plantation and McGavock Confederate Cemetery, had
offered the ground to preservationists for a price of $5 million if
the funds could be raised by June 2005. The Hellers bought the land,
which makes up the eastern flank of the Nov. 30, 1864, battlefield,
for $5 million in order to prevent it from being developed.
The country club is one of the last large tracts of pristine
battlefield acreage available in the rapidly growing area. Mayor Tom
Miller had offered to match a private fund raising effort of $2.5
million with Franklin's $2.5 million match if it passed the board of
aldermen vote.
Franklin's Charge, a coalition of local preservation groups, answered
the challenge and began a fund-raising effort last year, confident
the match would be approved. But there was some doubt.
In a sometimes heated public forum preceding the vote on March 8,
several residents spoke against the use of city funds to buy the
land. Citing concerns about budgetary issues resident Bob Buelterman
said, "I don't want see the city waste their money. We're talking
about a field of dreams."
Homeowners in the vicinity of the proposed park cited concerns about
additional traffic as well as the potential for higher taxes in order
to maintain the property. Chris Jackson, president of a local
homeowners association, asked the board, "What are we signing up for
after the 2.5 million match?"
Opposition leader Mike Benton argued that the ground to be saved is
not "core" battlefield to the average citizen. "To me core
battlefield is eye to eye and hand to hand fighting," he said.
But Franklin's Charge supporters turned out in mass dominating the
packed meeting room with speaker after speaker sharing statistics and
facts about what took place on the land and the benefit of a
battlefield park. Julian Bibb, a local attorney and leader of the
effort, answered the main concerns from the opposition point by point.
Citing the argument that the area in question is not "core"
battlefield, he noted a support letter signed by 14 nationally known
historians. Echoing the sentiments of many speakers, Fred Prouty of
the Tennessee Wars Commission said, "I find it astonishing anyone
could not find this land significant and worthy of saving."
Actress Ashley Judd, who lives in Franklin, said she came to the
meeting after reading about the effort to save the land in the New
York Times. "This is a national story," she said. "We have something
precious and dear in Franklin. Our green space needs to be saved."
The only vote against the proposal came from Alderman Tom Feuerborn
who cited the lack of a long-term "plan" as his biggest concern.
"Before we spend $2 million of the taxpayers' money, I need to see a
better plan for the future management of a park," he said.
Residents support the preservation project, according to a recent
survey commissioned by the Civil War Preservation Trust. Responding
to an early February telephone public opinion poll, 74 percent of
those surveyed said they support battlefield preservation at
Franklin, 62 percent favor transforming the country club into a
110-acre battlefield park and only 26 percent opposed the use of city
funds to buy the property.
While there are still formalities before the process is final, local
observers see the match as done. However, if 10 percent of the
registered voters ask for a referendum then the process will
continue, but it would be difficult with the June deadline looming.
Now, the preservation community must come up with its $2.5 million of the deal.
"We will get this done," says Robert Hicks of Franklin's Charge. "We
are making great progress." |
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