Hedlin Ballfield property SOLD

Tuesday night the La Conner Town Council had the purchase of Hedlin’s Ballfield on their agenda.

The Council was to approve an agreement with Frank Jeretzky, a commercial loan officer with Mountain Pacific Bank, to buy the property for $800,000, about $25,000 more than the Town’s asking price.

The deal enables Landed Gentry Homes, a leader in residential development in Skagit County for more than four decades, to build 10 single-family homes on 70 per cent of the nearly two-acre site, which for decades has served as a community youth sports venue along primarily residential Maple Avenue.

The remaining 30 per cent, approximately 24,000 square feet at the corner of Maple and Talbot, will remain a park.

The proposed sale would tentatively close before April 15, allowing the Town to meet its purchase obligation to the Hedlin family, make a profit and not have to make a second one-year option payment of $37,500.

“This prospective buyer is committed to the valley and sensitive to the needs of La Conner,” Mayor Ramon Hayes told the Weekly News Monday, noting that builder Brian Gentry would not work the property until after the La Conner youth sports season concludes in mid-June.

“He is committed to making sure that little league gets through the season, which is important to us,” Hayes said.

Hayes said being allowed to stage construction equipment from what will be the public park portion of the property is one reason Gentry is willing to pay above the Town’s $775,000 price tag.

“This will be a Council decision,” Hayes said, “but if the offer is accepted, we could not have asked for a better developer to work with the Town.”

The status of Hedlin’s Ballfield has been on the front burner for over a year. Upon buying adjoining farmland, the Hedlins offered to sell the ballfield to the Town at a reduced price to help offset their purchase costs.

The Hedlins had hoped the ballfield could remain entirely a public use area, but the Town determined it could not afford to buy the property and keep it only as open space.

Hayes facilitated the deal by negotiating an initial compromise calling for one-quarter of the property being preserved as a park and 75 per cent available for residential development, thus allowing the Town to simultaneously recoup its expenses and address local housing needs.

That ratio, supported by a Town Council consensus, was modified last month to a 30 percent/70 per cent park/residential area split following input from a citizen’s group.

In the meantime, with the Town’s lease of the property as a youth sports hub having expired, the ballfield was rezoned earlier this year from public use to residential to comply with La Conner’s Comprehensive Plan.

If the Gentry offer was finalized, terms of that agreement assure Hedlin’s Ballfield will host youth baseball one final season. Hayes, Town Administrator Scott Thomas and property listing broker Dick Nord are committed to securing a new location for youth sports here going forward.

Nord has reached out to La Conner Schools Director of Athletics Kathy Herrera, high school baseball coach Jeremiah LeSourd and interim Superintendent Rich Stewart to discuss potential on-campus options for a youth ballfield.

Nord, a La Conner resident, has enjoyed prior success partnering on campus projects with district officials.

Hayes earlier discussed creating a joint Town-Tribal youth sports complex with former Swinomish Senator Joe Williams. The mayor has said he will continue to consult with tribal leaders about that possibility.

The Council had Town Planning Commission recommendations regarding amendments to the municipal code governing residential density and setbacks on its agenda, also. The commission has proposed increasing housing density by reducing minimum lot sizes from 5,000 square feet to 4,000 square feet and reducing front, side and rear setback requirements.

Commissioners have spent nearly two years crafting the proposed code changes, which are designed to help the Town meet state Growth Management Act statutes requiring communities plan for future population growth.