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Monterey Mayor Bill Wiggins has received the quitclaim deed for the Bee Rock natural area.
Wiggins said Friday afternoon that 10.5 acres of Bee Rock now belongs to the town of Monterey.
“This means that we are going to promote this to the fullest as part of our economic development plan,” Wiggins said. “Also attached to this is a conservation easement with the Tennessee Parks and Greenways Foundation.”
Monterey native Bobby Walker registered the quitclaim deed with the city and executed the conservation easement with the Tennessee Parks and Greenways Foundation (TennGreen).
“Bobby feels strongly that Bee Rock needs to be preserved, thus he got the conservation easement,” Wiggins said. “He wants Monterey to have sole ownership of this great wonder.”
According to the TennGreen website, a conservation easement is a legal agreement between a landowner and a land trust that permanently limits uses of the land in order to protect its conservation values.
“There’s a quarter of an acre at the foot of the hill before you start up to the Bee Rock that will be converted into a parking area,” Wiggins said. “We will be permitted to install one security light and one restroom facility. Other than that, the property will remain as is.”
Owners of the Garden Inn have filed a lawsuit in Circuit Court challenging the donation and locations of easements on the property. Wiggins said he doesn’t know how the donation will impact the court case.
“I understand that it’s on the docket for April 3rd,” Wiggins said. “The court system is going to have to wind through this one because I really don’t know.”
Wiggins said town officials will begin discussing plans for Bee Rock in the near future.
