No Dallas White Park is not for sale
Council Member Pete Emrich
Some may think Dallas White Park is for sale in North Port. The answer is no it’s not, neither is Warm Mineral Springs Park. There was a weird add for the Springs, but it’s not city owned property, it’s nearby property.
What is being advertised at Dallas White Park is a P3 consideration.
A P3 is a Public-Private Partnership which is an agreement between a government entity and a private partner to provide a public service or develop a public facility in a manner that divides the risks, rewards, and responsibilities between the public and private sectors.
We have the old Al Goll Hall building which was renovated and used by the YMCA for years. Last year, the City closed the pool and didn’t partner with the YMCA to continue services in that location. The pool and the YMCA closed. Those two buildings have sat empty with no revenue is coming in now.
The Loveland Center wanted to use it but that fell through too. The commissioners are open to a public private partnership that would allow a non-profit or business to come in with an idea of what they want to do with the park.
For example, they could sell canoes and have children’s activities. They could add gym equipment in the park. They can use the building or replace the building and do programming.
Those buildings and the park is still public property. If the building is leased by a company to the city than that will generate monthly dollars that we are not getting right now.
The North Port Art Center uses one of the buildings in this area. The group is aware of the P3. Any group who submits a P3 will also be asked to consider the Art Center.
In other words, we are trying to think outside the box on what can be done with the empty buildings and the old pool space that may become a vibrant useful area in the future.
The police department is using the buildings right now for K9 training.
The park is not being taken away from residents.
