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Pratt mayor asks Kanawha County Schools to donate former school lot for trailhead
Summary
Pratt Mayor Andy Williams asked the Kanawha County Board of Education to consider transferring a roughly 2.25-acre parcel to the town for a trailhead and community park; board staff said the parcel is excess property and the item will be placed on the March 20 agenda with a deed reversion clause.
Mayor Andy Williams of the town of Pratt asked the Kanawha County Board of Education on March 3 to consider gifting a roughly 2.25‑acre former school parcel to the town to serve as a trailhead and community space.
Williams said the site — a large brick building that has since been removed — would give Pratt “a big jump ahead” on connecting into the Upper Kanawha trail system and could be developed for tennis courts, an amphitheater, parking and other community uses. “We could put on festivals and have gatherings, bands,” Williams said.
Susie Sosgarian, vice president of community development at the Charleston Area Alliance, described the request as part of a larger regional plan supported by an Appalachian Regional Commission grant and local matching funds. Sosgarian said acquiring the parcel would strengthen grant applications and allow Pratt to serve as a trailhead for planned hiking, biking and equestrian routes across the Upper Kanawha area.
Superintendent Tom Williams told the board the parcel is not needed in the district’s 10‑year facilities plan and described it as excess property the board could legally donate. He said staff could place the donation request on the board’s March 20 agenda and that a deed with a reversion clause could be drafted. “As long as the deed contains the reversion — that it would come back to us if it ceased to be used for the purpose of which we deeded them the property — I’m okay with that,” he said.
Board members voiced support for the concept and for using the site for school activities when appropriate. No formal action was taken on March 3; the board clerk was instructed to add the item to the March 20 agenda for a vote. If the board approves a donation, staff said they would prepare a deed for signature and record it at the courthouse.
Why it matters: a transfer would allow Pratt to pursue grant funding and begin site improvements, while the district would retain legal protection through a reversion clause if the town stopped using the parcel for its stated public purpose.
Next steps: The donation will appear on the board’s March 20 agenda; if approved, district legal staff will draft the deed for execution and recording.
