Peters Township Council green lights Rolling Hills Country Club talks
Peters Township Council gave approval Monday to begin negotiations with Laurel Communities, the development company that has a sales agreement to buy Rolling Hills Country Club.
Laurel, which includes Marty Gillespie of Heartland Homes and Horizon Properties, a major developer at Southpointe, is expected to close shortly on the 198-acre site, Michael Silvestri, township manager, said. The country club, which was shuttered at the end of December, published a notice saying it was winding up its affairs and will soon cease being a nonprofit corporation.
The township and Peters Township School District partnered earlier this year to buy the club. The township wants half the land for parks and a swimming pool, while the district said it would use its half for a new high school.
As part of their partnership, the township and the district hired William Bresnahan, a Pittsburgh attorney, at a rate of $385 an hour for the “possible negotiation, acquisition, and/or condemnation of a new public park and high school.” Bresnahan’s fees are being split between the township and the school district.
Silvestri could not say how much the township would offer for the land. “That’s (the price) part of the negotiations,” he said.
The township will have a bond issue to finance its portion of the sale. The district, meanwhile, has said it will apply for PlanCon C funding from the state for its share. Whenever a school district undertakes a large construction project and seeks reimbursement from the state, PlanCon – a term for planning and construction – is initiated. It justifies the project to the public and ensures compliance with the state and determines the amount the district can be reimbursed.