Supporters of the Bible Park Speak Out about Benefits

Some Blackman residents in favor of the proposed Bible Park USA gathered Thursday to talk about the positive aspects of the park.

Blackman residents in favor of the proposed Bible Park USA gathered Thursday to talk about the positive aspects of the park.

About 40 people met at the Blackman Community Club to discuss the good things the park could bring to Rutherford County.

"There has been so much negative information and inaccurate information about the park," said Donald McDonald, one of the organizers of the event.

He said that in the year or so developers have been talking to the public about the project, many changes and improvements have been made to the plan, including buffering for the park, a dedicated entrance to keep traffic off local roads and lighting that won't light up the sky.

McDonald, a co-owner of some of the land where an access road to the park would be built, said the tax benefit to the county would help cope with the cost of schools and infrastructure. The park could also keep the property taxes low, he said.

The county would see $125 million in sales and property tax revenue from the project over the course of the next 30 years, according to SafeHarbor Holding LLC, the park's developers.

John Brockwell said he attended Thursday's meeting to show his support for the park.

"I think it's a good move for the county," he said.

Brockwell said he thought the park would be a good neighbor, and he'd rather see it on the 282 acres where it is planned than a residential development.

"Change is going to happen," he said. "This is a good change."

Resident Dick Meadow said claims that the park wouldn't attract the 1.5 million visitors annually that developers have projected don't hold water. He said the developers were professionals and could make it happen.

"This would be a world-class operation, and it will be operated as such," he said.

The $175 million to $200 million park, which developers want to open by 2010, has drawn some heated opposition from Blackman residents and others in the county, while many in the business community have spoken out in favor of the park, citing its potential economic impact to the county.

Under the terms of a possible plan which would have to be approved by the Rutherford County Commission, property taxes generated by the park and a 5 percent privilege tax on sales made inside the park would go to pay down bonds taken out to pay for the park's construction.

No date has been set for the commission to vote on that issue.

According to developers' estimates, the privilege tax would generate an estimated $4.5 million annually and the property tax would generate an estimated $1.5 million annually. The bonds would be "no recourse" bonds, which means the county would not be liable for payment, even if the project failed.

The county's Regional Planning Commission rejected a rezoning request for the development last month. The County Commission will consider the rezoning at its meeting Thursday.

David Graves, who lives next to the new Beesley Road/state Route 840 interchange, said most of his neighbors were against the park, but he's definitely for it.

"I see nothing but good things coming from it - jobs, tax money," he said.