No one spoke on Monday during a public hearing held by the Farmville Town Council on the sale of town-owned Mottley Lake near Prospect.

The hearing was a formality in the process to sell the 147-acre property for $1.25 million to Farmville Farms LLC.

As part of the sale, the town would retain the water rights to the lake.

In addition to the lake, the property includes one house, one cabin and 17 mobile home hook-ups, with water, sewer and electricity for each, along with various outbuildings and a maintenance shop.

“We don’t need it,” Spates told The Herald,

referring to the land included with the lake.

Russell Harper — the registered agent of Farmville Farms LLC — is also a managing member of Harper Associates. According to their website, the firm is a real estate development, investments and management company.

Harper could not be reached for comment on the acquisition.

The company has built a multitude of sizable projects “ranging from 150,000 to 300,000 square-feet in commercial and residential mixed-use communities,” according the firm’s website.

The lake was purchased seven years ago by the town as an emergency backup water supply for times of severe drought.

According to the State Corporation Commission, Farmville Farms, LLC has a principal office of 7113 Three Chopt Road in Richmond — the same address as Harper Associates. The articles of incorporation were filed in December with the state.

In May, the town council voted to advertise for sealed bids for the lake and property with intentions to retain rights to the water in the lake.

“The seller reserves exclusive water rights to release water during extreme periods of drought,” the ad read.

The town purchased the property and lake for $1.67 million.

In May, Town Manager Gerald Spates told The Herald that the land’s value had decreased since the town took ownership because rental trailers had been removed and Luck Stone was planning to operate a quarry on adjacent property.

Though there were no speakers at the public hearing, in an email to the council, David and Robyn Simpson, of Prospect, who own land next to the lake, said they asked the council to consider accepting their previous bid as the higher bid or allow them to continue bidding on the property.

“We live on a family farm adjoining the Mottley Lake property,” said Robyn Simpson. “We are interested in purchasing this property and have, in fact, been bidding on it. Our latest bid was for $1,225,000 with terms discussed with [Gerald] Spates as being 20-percent down with the balance to be divided into annual payments at 4 percent interest, being paid in full in 5 years with no penalty for early payoff.” 

Spates said that the information in the email was incorrect, and that her bid was for $1.2 million.

“His terms of $300,000 down with 5 annual payments of $95,000 at zero percent interest, with the balance being paid in the next five years at an undisclosed interest rate, is not only unfair, but actually much less money to the Farmville taxpayers than our bid,” Simpson said.

Spates said that the town would not reopen the bid.                                                                         

Terms of the sale would include $300,000 down due at closing with zero percent interest during the first five years. Payments would be $95,000 during the first five years and $95,000 for the remaining five, plus interest, according to the town.

A deed of trust will be held with the financing, and a specific due date for annual installments will be established.