Moffeit The contract to acquire more than two dozen acres near Winchester Park has been signed by Chandler officials and the property owner, and the title is being researched by a Tyler company, city administrator Jim Moffeit said.

“We’ve signed the contract, and the title is at Landmark Title in Tyler. The property will be transferred to the Texas Parks and Recreation Foundation on a temporary basis.”

The deal came more than two months after city offi- cials here voted to purchase 29 acres from Stanley Mc- Curley. Once Landmark Title’s work is complete, Chandler will make a $200,000 down payment on the property at 802 Martin St.

The remaining $385,000 will be paid at 6 percent over the next 10 years. If the city satisfies the debt in five years, the early-payoff penalty would be about $18,000.

McCurley has four months to vacate the property, which includes a house, swimming pool and other buildings.

The land could be used to expand Winchester Park or to build a new government complex that would house City Hall, the Chandler Police Department, Chandler Brownsboro Area Chamber of Commerce, and Chandler Community Center. And Texas Parks and Wildlife Department grant programs are a motivating factor in the acquisition.

One of the agency’s grant programs offers money to state municipalities and counties with populations under 20,000. It provides 50 percent match- ing funds, with the maximum amount awarded $750,000.

Moffeit has said the state agency allows the assessed value at purchase to be used as matching funds in a parks grant. However, state law prohibits Chandler from using that program if it owns the property, according to the foundation.

“State regulations do not allow the use of govermentowned park property as an in-kind match for park development grants,” the foundation’s Web site says. “By holding title to property during the grant review process, the foundation makes it possible to (use) the value of the property and maintain its eligibility for grant assistance.”

Park land typically remains with the foundation for five years, Moffeit has said. The cost to use the program is $100 a year.

Planning Concepts, a consulting firm in Tyler, has been retained to draft plans on how to best use the land and Winchester Park as Chandler prepares for what is projected to be substantial growth in Smith and Henderson counties over the next 30 years.

Chandler officials initially discussed purchasing 14 acres of McCurley’s land before an offer was made on the entire property. Mc- Curley’s asking price was $650,000.