TDC approves exploring partnership with FWC to develop Gateway Outdoor Center on 500-acre site
Loading...
Summary
The Columbia County Tourist Development Council voted to pursue a formal partnership with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to study a Gateway Outdoor Center concept inside the county's 500-acre regional park and to take the proposal to the Board of County Commissioners for further action.
The Columbia County Tourist Development Council voted to pursue a formal partnership with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to explore a Gateway Outdoor Center concept on the county's 500-acre property and to take a request for formal approval to the Board of County Commissioners.
The proposal stems from a conceptual presentation by Ashley Williams, public information coordinator for the regional FWC office, who described the center as "a destination for hands-on exploration, a regional hub highlighting North Florida's amenities and opportunities." The council and staff said they view the center as a way to pair athletic tournaments already held on the property with conservation and outdoor-education programming.
The idea technically is still in early, conceptual stages. Ashley Williams cautioned the audience the slides and video shown were preliminary. "This is a conceptual vision," she said. "There's no set plans here." Council members and TDC staff repeatedly described the partnership as a step to allow FWC and county staff to begin scoping and drafting a formal agreement.
TDC members described multiple potential public benefits: a local education and visitor hub for families and seniors, a place where tournament visitors could spend downtime, and a gateway mapping function that could direct visitors to nearby springs and trails. "If you've got a tournament and families are coming in ... they've got something to do right there on the property," a TDC member said during discussion.
Council members said the partnership would require additional approvals and coordination. TDC members noted funding could draw on existing restricted federal forestry funding the county holds, the pending RFQ for phase 1 engineering of the 500-acre project, and state partnerships such as FWC, Department of Environmental Protection, Florida Forest Service and the U.S. Forest Service. A TDC speaker summarized the next step: staff will prepare materials and present a formal partnership request to the Board of County Commissioners.
At the meeting's close on the item, a motion to seek the Board of County Commissioners' approval to advance the partnership concept was made and seconded and approved by the council.
The partnership is conceptual and contingent on further study, interagency agreements and later budget decisions. Council members invited other agencies and advocacy groups to join early planning, and several board members encouraged a site visit to an existing conservation visitor center in Perry, Georgia, planned for April 11.
What happens next: staff were authorized to prepare a formal presentation and draft agreement for the county commission; the TDC will not yet commit design or construction dollars until those later approvals and scoping steps occur.
