Manatee County buys new park. Here’s how it may reduce Parrish flooding

Manatee County leaders have signed off on buying a 93-acre property in Parrish with plans to prevent flooding, protect rare habitat from development and create a public park.

The property sits along Golf Course Road between Fort Hamer Road to the west and Rye Road to the east. Gamble Creek, a major tributary of the Manatee River, flows through it for half a mile, as does a half-mile portion of the Frye Canal. In recent years, large housing developments have swallowed up green space in the area, closing in.

“It is in a very high-pressure area for development,” said Debra Woithe, manager of the county’s Environmental Lands Program.

The county will pay the Cannon family $9.5 million for the land, which family members inherited after the death of Theolla Cannon at 93 last year.

“She lived on the property. She loved the land and also enjoyed feeding her cows,” Woithe said.

County buys land for flood prevention, conservation

The Golf Course Road property previously had acres of orange groves, but they’ve been replaced over time with oaks. It also contains pasture land and natural habitat, including forested wetlands and pine flatwoods.

Gopher tortoises and swallow-tailed kites are among the wildlife seen in the area.

“Looking at the natural resource value of the property, there is some wonderful and beautiful habitat quality and rarity along the creeks,” Woithe said. “The quality and rarity is lower in the pastures and in the grove areas.”

The property was previously a candidate for purchase through the Environmental Lands Program, which uses a voter-backed tax fund to purchase conservation lands in Manatee County. But staff say the property can be used for several other purposes in addition to conservation, making it a better fit to buy with funds from the county’s reserves.

The high-quality, native habitats will be preserved, Woithe said.

In areas where the habitat quality is lower, staff plan to build a new stormwater management facility to prevent future flooding. Nearly half of the property lies in the floodplain, making it an ideal place to corral stormwater.

County stormwater manager Tom Gerstenberger estimates that the facility would hold 300 acre-feet of water — roughly 150 Olympic-sized swimming pools. Gerstenberger said the facility will help address historical flooding in the area.

The estimated cost of the new facility is $35 million, which could come from the $252 million Housing and Urban Development grant recently awarded to Manatee County for hurricane disaster relief, staff said.

Staff also plan to use the edge of the property for widening Golf Course Road, including a replacement of the road’s bridge over Gamble Creek.

Public park planned for Parrish property

County staff also foresee opening part of the property as a public park.

Recreation could include trails, wildlife viewing opportunities, shade structures, a pavilion and a possible “nature playground” if funding is available, a county spokesperson said in an email.

Commissioners voted 5-0 to approve the purchase, with Commissioners Jason Bearden and Mike Rahn absent.

A timeline for the construction of the stormwater facility and park was not provided.

“I’m extremely excited to see everything that we’re doing in my district ... that has seen a lot of changes,” Commissioner Carol Ann Felts said. “And I think that the changes that we’re getting into now are truly preserving the parts of Manatee County that really mean something.”