Swepsonville’s town council has entered into closed sessions for the past several months to confer with the town’s attorney about a future acquisition of two parcels of land that would be used to renovate and expand the town’s century-old ballpark at 1001 Bob Vaughn Road.
The town’s current ballpark was established in June 1926 and has a Graham address but is within Swepsonville’s municipal jurisdiction.
Swepsonville’s town council had voted unanimously in October 2024 to approve a contract with Cary-based Bobbitt Construction to complete the park renovation/expansion, for which the estimated budget is $4.5 million.
Preliminary plans discussed with the town council in August 2024 called for renovating the existing ballpark and adding nature trails, playgrounds, pickleball courts, “viewing areas,” and a connection to a future bridge.
The Swepsonville ballpark had been home to the Swepsonville Sweepers, a summer collegiate baseball team for three years. The team no longer exists as town officials assess the next move for the town’s aging ballpark. The condition of Swepsonville Ballpark and low attendance appeared to be factors in the disbanding of the team.
Town administrator Brad Bullis confirmed for The Alamance News last summer that representatives for the Old North State League, which had included the Sweepers, that there were plans to move out of Swepsonville after the 2022 season.
The Alamance News has confirmed that Swepsonville officials are considering purchasing two parcels for a future expansion/renovation of the existing ballpark.
The two parcels under consideration include: 23.54 acres of vacant land at the intersection of Oakridge Drive with Woodside Avenue; and a 9.25-acre parcel at an unaddressed location along Bob Vaughn Road. Both vacant parcels are contiguous to the town’s existing ballpark and near a segment of the Haw River trail.
The 23.54-acre site, which is within the floodplain of the Haw River, is currently owned by Michelle Proenza of Colfax, according to Alamance County tax records, which list the latest assessed value at $86,595. The smaller, 9.25-acre parcel is owned by Jessica Marie Conlon of Liberty and is valued at $89,104, according to the county’s tax department.
Koonts, the town’s attorney, recalled for the newspaper this week that Swepsonville officials had held numerous meetings to gather public feedback about future improvements to the current site.
The town council held interviews, an online survey, and a public input session with community members during the winter of 2021 to gather feedback on the development of the town’s “Plan 2040,” a long-range comprehensive land use plan that the council subsequently voted to adopt in May 2022.
The survey that the town posted on its website between November 2021 and February 2022 garnered 32 responses about what should be the town’s future priorities (such as streets, growth, commercial development, and recreation).
According to the town’s long-range plan, 19 percent of survey respondents said they wanted more parks and recreation facilities.
Two of the goals that emerged during the development of the “Town Plan 2040” included: the development of a master park and recreation plan, starting with exploring available sites for future town parks or expansion of existing park facilities; and hiring a parks and recreation staff to initiate a new parks and recreation department that would be funded “utilizing new property tax revenues” as development of park facilities occurs.
Koonts, for his part, insisted that no action has taken place to acquire land for a future renovation and/or expansion of the ballpark. Any final authorization to purchase property would have to be voted on in a public meeting, according to the provisions of the state’s Open Meetings Law.
The two properties had been referred to during discussions with the council as the “24-acre Haw River site” and the “lake/dam site,” Koonts elaborated Tuesday in a written response to a public records request by The Alamance News (see related story, this edition).
“No action, other than title work and background investigation, has taken place by the Staff or Town Council,” the attorney wrote. “No offers have been authorized, and no further action is expected at this time…The motions to go into Closed Sessions were simply to provide staff and legal counsel with direction in investigating adjoining properties to the current ballpark location.”
