MINT HILL – Mayor Ted Biggers and town commissioners signaled their initial support for an open event center after hearing a presentation at their quarterly developers’ workshop on Jan. 10.
Lisa and Craig Ramsey would like open the facility on just under 15 acres at 2220 McManus Road.
The couple plans on renovating a barn on the property into a center that could host weddings, receptions and events such as family reunions and corporate outings. Lisa Ramsey said the venue could host up to 150 people.
“The plan is to do an update on the barn to have wedding events as well as community gatherings,” she said.
There will be no kitchen facilities in the barn as any meals will have to be catered. The Ramseys plan on adding additional bathrooms in the barn, and they said the parking area will be just less than an acre.
“The only service we will offer is space rental,” Lisa Ramsey said.
There is currently a house on the property. The Ramseys would use that as their primary residence for the next two years or so before building a new home on the property. Once they build their new home, Lisa Ramsey said the old residence would become part of the events center and be used to host smaller gatherings. They also said their daughter and son-in-law would also build a home on the property.
“We would like to divide the property into three pieces,” she said. “The current house and the barn would take up a majority of the property for the events center.’’
Neighbors in the area of the proposed event center will be notified of the Ramsey’s rezoning request and a public hearing will be held in the future.
“Personally, I think this may turn out to be a good thing,” Biggers said. “As we move forward, we will see how it goes. But I have a favorable opinion of it so far.”
Fire calls on rise
Dale Dalton told fellow commissioners and the mayor at the board meeting that the Mint Hill Fire Department responded to 521 services calls last month – 298 EMS calls and 223 fire calls.
For the year, the fire department responded to 5,346 total calls, which is a 7 percent increase over 2017.
“In the last four years, our call rate is up 40.5 percent,” Dalton said. “In four years, we could see 7,800 calls.”
The town is scheduled to bring the Mint Hill Fire Department under the town’s umbrella in July.
The board also approved a rezoning request that will allow a proposed fitness center in the Clear Creek Business Park. The fitness center would occupy about 5,000 square feet of a speculative 24,000-square-foot building in the park.
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