COLUMBUS – A public information meeting seeking input has been scheduled for Monday, March 20 at the Polk County Public Library.

Carolina Mountain Land Conservancy (CMLC) and the Pacolet Area Conservancy (PAC) are asking local residents to come out to share their ideas and visions about the property.

A majority of the site, up to 600 acres, will potentially be future game land and about 300 acres could be added to the Polk County Recreation Complex. The conservancies say they want to hear the public’s ideas about how the remaining 168 acres and the possible county park land could be developed in ways that will benefit the community and complement the adjacent land uses.

The meeting will be a drop-in style, from 3:30-6 p.m. Monday, March 20. The Polk County Library is located at 1289 W. Mills St., Columbus.

CMLC purchased what was formerly known as Foster Creek Preserve, a proposed 687-unit residential development that never came to fruition.

CMLC worked closely with PAC to purchase the 1,068-acre property, with the sale closing in December 2016.

The land was purchased through a major gift from Fred and Alice Stanback, of Salisbury and a $1.86 million loan from the Conservation Trust for North Carolina. CMLC says they want to transfer portions of the property to the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission to be used as game lands with an access point from Hwy. 108 and approximately 300 acres to the Polk County Recreation Department to add to the adjacent Polk County Recreation Complex at the county middle school property.

With other portions of the property, approximately 30-60 acres, CMLC wants to partner with the Housing Assistance Corporation, a nonprofit Hendersonville-based developer of affordable housing.

Anyone with questions or comments about the meeting can contact Linda Giltz at 828-236-2966 or lindagiltz@gmail.com. Giltz is working under contract with CMLC to collect public input and develop a land use plan for the property.