OVIEDO, Fla. – The city of Oviedo will soon own Twin Rivers Golf Course, which has been struggling for years.
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"We're purchasing 300 acres for about $5 million, about $18,000 an acre, maybe a little less than that," Mayor Dominic Persampiere said. "The advantage to us purchasing it is that we're saving it from development."
He said they can't afford to pay all that money up front, so they're taking out a loan and residents will be on the hook to pay that back.
"The way it's being funded is there will be an additional $3 fee on everyone's water bill every month as part of storm water charge," Persampiere said. "Two dollars of that fee will be put towards the purchase of the golf course, and $1 of that is going towards capital improvement projects throughout the city."
He said the fee will stay in tact for the next 15 years.
"This really is the best case scenario for everybody involved, for city residents, for those who want to see the land stay natural, for golfers, park lovers, it doesn't get any better than this," Persampiere said.
City Council still needs to finalize all the details and once that happens, the new fee will go into effect. The mayor said residents have already been notified of the changes.