Good News for Tweetsie?

calenelson · May 9, 2008, 7:11pm

County and Tweetsie may go into special partnership

http://www.wataugademocrat.com/2008/0505/0505tweetsie.php

Watauga County and Tweetsie Railroad are exploring a proposal that would keep the Wild West theme park at its current location “for the next 50 years and beyond.”

Watauga planning director Joe Furman, who is acting economic developer for the county, presented a proposal to the commissioners Monday in which the county would buy land to support the theme park in exchange for a long-term commitment to keep the business operating.

The county would also provide marketing money over the next six years, with Tweetsie agreeing to add $13 million worth of park improvements.

Two things needed to happen for Tweetsie to remain secure at its present location, Furman told the commissioners. Tweetsie general manager Chris Robbins must gain ownership of the theme park and eventually purchase leased land that comprises two portions of the approximately 300-acre park. All other land leases have been extended through 2065, though Furman said the leased land could change owners and put the park in jeopardy.

Under the proposal, the county would pay $3.15 million to two landowner groups, with the Tourism Development Authority providing $200,000 toward that amount from occupancy-tax revenues. The county would then lease the properties to the theme park for $1 a year for six years. At that time, it would be leased at market value until Tweetsie purchased the property from the county.

As proposed, the TDA would provide a $150,000 grant to Tweetsie for marketing and promotion over the next six years, and the park would make improvements over the next 20 years.

Robbins, who was at the meeting, said the report was complete and had no additional information to present.

The commissioners scheduled a public hearing for May 20 for the proposed partnership. The county and Tweetsie have been exploring a potential economic-incentive package for several years due to concerns over leases which threatened the future of the theme park.

The group Dee Arthur Properties owns 142 acres of park territory, and a long-term lease had been set to expire last year. Tweetsie and the property group were able to negotiate a four-year lease, but due to the uncertainty of future leases and the cost and time of moving, the theme park had been investigating other sites in the mountains and were prepared to move if necessary.

Sites in Wilkes and Catawba counties were explored as part of that search, though Robbins maintained the park’s primary wish was to remain at its current location between Boone and Blowing Rock on U.S. 321.

In 2006, Tweetsie reached agreement with the Broyhill family for a long-term lease on another 46 acres that are part of the park. Tweetsie owns 87 acres outright.

The park attracts about 250,000 visitors a year, and a private study commissioned by the theme park showed it had an annual economic impact of $27.4 million on the region and employs more than 300 people during the season, in addition to 26 full-time jobs.

Its 52nd season of operation began Friday.

cabby · May 9, 2008, 8:36pm

Tweetsie has been there so long, I would have never thought a good part of the land was leased.
Hopefully the deal goes through. It sure would be a job moving the Tweetsie !
Ralph

calenelson · May 9, 2008, 10:18pm

another story:same stuff minus the force of land for “GreenSpace”

BLOWING ROCK - BLOWING ROCK - Watauga County officials propose to put up $3.15 million – money it would eventually recover with interest – to resolve a long-standing land issue that threatens to close Tweetsie Railroad, an anchor for millions of dollars in county tourism.

The train runs across land the theme park doesn’t own, and rising property values mean that some of the landowners aren’t willing to continue leasing land to Tweetsie when they could sell or develop it for much more money.

Watauga County proposes to spend $3.15 million to buy land needed to keep Tweetsie Railroad operating, provided the theme park would eventually buy the land back from the county government for the purchase price, plus interest and expenses.

The deal is part of an incentive package aimed at keeping the family-owned theme park open. The proposal also says that the Watauga County Tourism Development Authority would spend $1.1 million – most of it on marketing Tweetsie and the surrounding area. The tourism authority raises money mainly through an occupancy tax on cabin and cottage rentals in the unincorporated portions of Watauga County.

Once the county buys the land, Tweetsie would lease the land for $1 a year for six years. After that, Tweetsie would lease the land at the market rate, until it buys the land back from the county government.

As part of the agreement, Tweetsie would invest $13 million in improvements and expansions to the park over 20 years, and would build a portion of the Middle Fork Greenway across its property for public use. The greenway will eventually offer a bike and pedestrian connection between Boone and Blowing Rock.

Officials from the county, the tourism authority and Tweetsie have all signed a nonbinding letter of intent describing the Tweetsie deal. The county will hold a public hearing on the issue May 20, before county commissioners vote on whether to approve the agreement.

Rob Holton, the chairman of the tourism authority, said that the arrangement would help Tweetsie and be good for the local economy.

“Our goal is to put more heads in beds to help our lodging and restaurant establishments,” Holton said. “By keeping Tweetsie it makes a huge difference in attracting our tourism up here.”

Tweetsie Railroad drew more than 235,000 visitors last year. An economic study shows that it helps generate about $27 million a year for the local economy. The theme park has 26 full-time employees and employs more than 300 people during its operating months from May through October.

Tweetsie Railroad Inc., the theme park’s operating company, owns 87 acres and leases three additional parcels that make up 188 acres.

The 50-year leases might not have seemed much of an issue when the park was founded by Grover Robbins Jr. and a partner in 1957, but disputes about what to do with the land when the leases expired have threatened to derail Tweetsie. A compromise agreement is keeping the leases in place to allow the theme park to remain open through 2010.

A sometimes bitter family history and a new legal requirement to sell Tweetsie’s controlling stock are adding to the complexity of negotiating a future for Tweetsie.

The proposed agreement says that the county has obtained contracts to purchase the portion of Tweetsie’s leased land that is owned by Grover Robbins Jr.'s children Janice Robbins Elder and Mike Robbins for $3.15 million by the end of the year. The park has already obtained renewed leases for other portions of the park land, and the new leases extend through 2065.

Chris Robbins, the general manager of Tweetsie, said that the park can’t buy the land without the county’s help because its cash is tied up in ongoing improvements, stock buyout and higher lease payments.

The agreement would be good for the county, he said.

“A lot would go away if we weren’t here,” he said, discussing employment figures and the park’s economic impact.

But there’s also a sentimental factor at work in preserving something that’s been part of the cultural identity of the mountains for more than 50 years.