Smithville Lake Nature Center Future in Question

The new Clay County Annex has received almost all the attention of disgruntled Clay County citizens, and rightly so. It is being constructed from a $52,000,000 COP package that voters did not approve. $20,000,000 of that was allocated to build the annex.

Another building project using the borrowed $52,000,000 COP money is Ridgeway’s $5,500,000 Astronomy and Nature Center at Smithville Lake

$5,500,000 is earmarked for a brand new astronomy and nature center at Camp Branch at Smithville Lake. Clay County Parks, Recreation and Historic Sites already has a nature center right across Camp Branch at Kelsey Short Outdoor Education Campus.

On October 23, Presiding Commissioner Jerry Nolte brought the Astronomy and Nature Center back into the spotlight with a social media post that stated that work had been halted on the project.

“Another building project using the borrowed $52,000,000 COP money is Ridgeway’s $5,500,000 Astronomy and Nature Center at Smithville Lake,” states Nolte. “It has not gotten as much media coverage, but the good news is, it is not going forward.”

When asked what he meant when he posted that work had been stopped, Nolte said that he hasn’t seen any invoices from engineering firms or other companies for billable hours since April 2019, the progress on the project seems to have halted. He also noted that if clearing and preparation of the land on the proposed site hasn’t been started by now, it probably won’t because it’s getting too late begin this late in the year.

In response to Nolte’s post, Clay County released another unsigned press release that states his statement is disinformation: “The County would like to clarify that progress continues, and the project remains in the planning and evaluation phase. At no point did work stop on the Nature Center, which was approved by a vote of the Clay County Commission.”

The approval referenced in the statement was part of the $50,000,000 COP package that was voted on by only three people in the county: the Clay County Commission. Two commissioners voted for the package and one against. The people of Clay County were not involved in the decision.

The County press release concludes by state that the county “looks forward to providing the community with a facility where a passion and curiosity for nature can grow through unique learning experiences while keeping construction on schedule and at a cost in line with the project budget.”

Nolte concluded his social media post by saying that he looks forward to “working with the new county commission to re-evaluate this project and other large expenditures.”

KPGZ reached out to Commissioner Ridgeway with questions about what work is being done in the planning phase of the project and the future of the Kelsey Short Youth Area, but did not reach a response at time of publication.

KPGZ News – Brian Watts contributed to this story