Park or Pork?

By Jason Edmonds

In 2021 and 2023, the Hamilton County government’s purchase of McDonald Farm was featured in the Pork Report, and it seems 2026 is welcoming their boondoggle once again. For its first appearance, Hamilton County commissioners spent $16 million to purchase the property with the hopes of turning it into a manufacturing hub. Although barely a third of the land was “ready” for development, millions of Hamilton County tax dollars were spent acquiring the property without a firm plan. We wrote, “One can only hope this project doesn’t continue to cost taxpayers like the countless government properties that require more funds than disclosed down the road.” Unfortunately, that was not the case, as the farm’s second appearance in 2023 exposed that a sinkhole had appeared on the property, resulting in more taxpayer dollars spent on a consultant to review the damage and estimate costs for repair. Just a few years after the property was purchased, the county spent $2.2 million on reports, studies, preliminary engineering, and property maintenance. And still no manufacturing hub in sight.

Now for its third appearance. Just last year, plans were developed to have a “land swap” with a nearby park, to allow industry to take place on 500 acres of the separate park to preserve the land at McDonald Farm, which just years before was sold as the place for manufacturing. Now, taxpayers statewide will potentially spend their tax dollars on this property. Gov. Bill Lee’s proposed budget includes over $45 million to transform 1,300 acres of the property into a new state park. What was a local liability now has the makings of a potential state taxpayer-funded bailout. 

McDonald Farm should serve as a cautionary tale for governments looking to buy first and ask questions later. But if a state bailout is on its way, what is to prevent other local governments from gambling local tax dollars on potential land purchases if the backup plan is for the state to arrive in the form of a state pork park?