Bessemer council adds property to Bluff Valley Park

BESSEMER - Bessemer's City Council approved moving a piece of city-owned property into the Bluff Valley Park system during its meeting Tuesday.

The decision was approved by a 4-1 vote, with council member Marlene Zaleski voting against.

The property near Steiger Field, north of West Iron Street between Massie Avenue and State Street, was an item of interest for residents who owned property in the area.

Two separate proposals were made earlier this year by private citizens to purchase a total 7.1 acres of the property. However, a number of city residents voiced their opposition to the sale, claiming the land is used for recreation.

The Planning Commission reviewed the request and later recommended against selling the property and, in addition, making the entire 11.4-acre parcel part of Bluff Valley Park.

After hearing input from the general public and considering the commission's recommendation, the City Council denied the sale at its meeting Aug. 18, but didn't make the property an addition of the park.

The property up to where Silver Street would run is zoned as mixed density residential, while the remaining land is zoned as country estates.

Marlene Zaleski, and her husband Ron, a member of the Planning Commission, made one of the initial proposals to purchase part of the property.

The Zaleskis amended their original request and made another Tuesday afternoon to purchase the residentially zoned property up to Silver Street.

The city has previously sold land in that residential area to property owners with adjacent land, though council members denied the amended request by the Zaleskis.

Mayor Butch Semmerling said if the city is approached in the future by a person seeking to put something substantial on the property, the council could at that time decide whether to allow it.

The Zaleskis have stated they planned to reforest the land.

"I gave this more thought after we made the decision last meeting and I stand by that," Semmerling said. "But anyway, if someone were to come forward and request a piece of that property to put in a motel, supper club, whatever - quite a complex - there's always a thing called a variance. We can allow that, but as it stands we're not selling the property."

Council member Doug Olsen said the city has been through this situation a number of times in different ways, and moved to have the entire piece of property made part of Bluff Valley Park.

"The Planning Commission looked into it, they made a definite recommendation that we don't (sell) and that we attach this property to the park," he said, adding the property be rezoned if necessary. "Otherwise we'll continue to go through these battles again and again every time a request comes in. There's far more people who use this than I realized ... and I think it would be a very good asset to add it to the rest of the park."