Update: Vote postponed over deal to give nonprofit control over Forsyth Park

This story was updated Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2024, to add comments from the City of Savannah.

The Savannah alderman who represents the neighborhoods surrounding Forsyth Park successfully postponed a vote on a measure to cede substantial control of the park to a new private charity that is seeking to preserve and improve the beloved city landmark.

Council members tabled the proposed memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Friends of Forsyth Conservancy, Inc., after District 2 Alderman Detric Leggett privately told City Manager Jay Melder before last Thursday’s council meeting that he had grave concerns about the document.

Leggett told The Current that he and the council were blindsided by the draft agreement, which would establish a 10-year partnership between the city and the nonprofit organization to implement a contentious master plan developed three years ago with private donations totaling $600,000.

In exchange for raising money, the conservancy, which is run by two of the women who spearheaded the master plan, would have influence over changes to the park and the right to oversee some spending decisions, according to the draft deal.

The agreement also would allow the group free use of the park for its private events. It includes a provision that the city would agree to keep the names of nonprofit donors and employees confidential.

However, the MOU does not detail the amount of money the group would raise for the park over the duration of the agreement.

“To be as blunt as possible, it looks like it’s something else going on behind the scenes,” Leggett said.

City Press Secretary Josh Peacock, in response to questions from The Current , disputed the perception that the document ceded control over Forsyth. He said the MOU was not a legally binding document and instead a “framework” for a partnership that will benefit city residents.

“This MOU solidifies civic and public engagement, with a focus on diversity of users, equitable accesses and transparency while reinforcing the City’s ownership of the park and final decision-making power in all matters related to this public property,” Peacock said in a statement.

The MOU is the latest development in efforts by the private Trustees’ Garden Club to plan and oversee Forsyth’s future maintenance and improvements . Club members have likened their efforts to private-public partnerships common across America — like booster clubs that raise money independently for a public cause — and similar to the conservancy that oversees New York City’s Central Park.

Dolly Chisholm, a Savannah lawyer and the secretary for the Friends of Forsyth, told The Current that the MOU was drafted mostly by the conservancy and co-CEOs Eleanor Rhangos and Meb Ryan, who have long been involved in the project.

Peacock, the city spokesman, said that the group formally approached the city about formalizing this partnership in February 2023, and confirmed that the MOU has been reviewed by the city attorney.

Chisholm says the collaboration was a boon to both sides.

“This is such a win-win situation for the city, just because they have a lot of things on their plate first, for everywhere, and they need a partner to help them, help them fund some of the things, and, you know, just basic things like lighting and security,” she said.

Chisholm singled out Gordon Denney, director of the city’s park and tree department, and Joe Shearouse, director of policy and external affairs in the city manager’s office for their support of the project.

Leggett said public controversy surrounding the master plan kept the issue off the city council agenda for years, one of the reasons he was surprised to see the MOU. Members of the Victorian Neighborhood Association (VNA) urged him to have deeper discussions about the document before any city council vote.

VNA President Nancy Maia has criticized the process, saying it excludes the voices of those who actually use the park every day.

“It’s a sacred space for Savannah in general, and our goal is just to make sure that what happens to it is reflective of the desires of the community members,” Maia said.

‘Future stability and development’

The 30-acre park, named after former Georgia Gov. John Forsyth, was created in 1841. The south side of the current park was established as a military parade ground 12 years later. It hosts a large monument to Confederate Army dead, first unveiled in 1874.

Since then, the park has become so much more than a monument space. A great equalizer to the city’s masses, it’s home to a popular jazz festival, church-hosted “Gospel on the Greens” block parties, a backdrop for family and wedding photoshoots, fierce competition on basketball and tennis courts, cricket games and picnics.

The passion that the park arouses in Savannahians is why the master plan drafts received so much feedback and scrutiny.

In March 2019, a prior administration of city council first authorized the Trustees’ Garden Club to come up with a master plan to guide “future stability and development.”

With the help of a Virginia-based landscape firm, the club released two versions of a master plan, after soliciting more than 2,000 comments. Small changes included inputting a tree conservation plan, adding a bike lane to the perimeter sidewalks and improving lighting. Bigger alterations included reducing open lawn space, replacing the band shell roof and moving the playground and splash pad.

The contentious changes, a new city council, and COVID-19 ultimately caused the master plan to be shelved by city officials.

Despite news reports that the master plan would be presented to the city council for discussion and possible adoption in the fall of 2021, that has not occurred.

Leggett said he hadn’t heard much more about the master plan until last week.

On the Friday before a city council meeting, elected members receive a draft agenda to review. Leggett said he was surprised to see the MOU on the agenda and even more surprised when he began reading the subsections.

“I printed it off and I walked around the city manager’s office, asking ‘did you read this?’ When I got to the city manager’s office I told him if we vote on this now, this will be bad for the entire community,” Leggett said.

‘Nobody knows what the master plan is’

While seeking public feedback and approval for the Forsyth master plan three years ago, the women from the Trustees’ Garden Club said a major goal for their organization was to win a coveted and rare National Historic Landmark status for Forsyth. The designation opens the door to federal protections from development, tax benefits and eligibility for preservation grants, according to federal law .

The MOU includes reference to that goal in the document. It also prioritizes the value of the park for all residents of the area as well as tourists.

“The purpose of this Memorandum of Understanding is to establish a framework for cooperation and collaboration between the City and the Conservancy with the goals of implementation, to the extent practicable, of the Master Plan for Forsyth Park and the preservation of the Park’s historic integrity,” the document states.

“Forsyth Park is a significant asset of the City requiring appropriate maintenance and management commensurate with its value and importance to the well-being of the citizens of the greater Savannah area as well as a key contributor to attracting visitors to the City.”

Chisholm said the conservancy is committed to improvements that were already on the city’s wish list.

The biggest point of contention about the MOU, according to Leggett and the VNA’s Maia, is that the “Forsyth Park Master Plan” underpins the entire agreement. Yet the draft agreement doesn’t specify which version of the master plan would be the guidepost for funding.

“When you’re looking at the MOU, it refers to the master plan, but nobody knows what the master plan is,” Maia said.

City spokesman Peacock told The Current that there is “only one version” of the Forsyth master plan, but did not provide further explanation.

‘Questions that need to be answered’

The VNA did not see a draft of the MOU before it was placed on the city council agenda for the Aug. 8 meeting.

The document was made public in the notice of the public meeting on Aug. 2.

Peacock described the agreement as part of a normal city process by which it partners with nonprofit organizations to enhance city spaces, like the MOU the city has with the Telfair Museum of Art in which the museum funds improvements to Telfair Square .

The Telfair MOU defines a partnership allowing the the museum to enact and fund a master plan for that square outside the museum. It details the rights for the museum to use the city property for its own purposes, free of charge, but also defines a limit of days each month for the museum to use the space in such a manner. The MOU does not include a confidentiality clause, as the draft Forsyth MOU does.

The Forsyth MOU was set to be voted on in the section of the Aug. 8 council meeting agenda in which the city manager recommends action on items he approves.

However, the council did not discuss the MOU during the working group held before the Aug. 8 council meeting.

City spokesman Peacock said the strains on city staff due to Tropical Storm Debby prevented the city manager from discussing the merits of the Forsyth agreement in advance of the council meeting. However, Melder “welcomes the ability to provide more information about the merits of the MOU,” according to the spokesman.

At the meeting itself, the only discussion about the item came in a brief exchange between Johnson and Melder, in which they agreed that the item would be tabled.

“We’re going to cook for a while longer,” Johnson said. Replied Melder: “Yup, we’ve postponed that.”

A few minutes later, in response to a question from Alderwoman At Large Carol Bell, the mayor said the MOU would be back on the agenda in two weeks.

Reached the day after that decision, the mayor said although he had agreed to put the MOU on the agenda, that action doesn’t mean he agrees with the document itself, Johnson said.

“I have questions that need to be answered,” he said.

Among those questions are how the conservancy would be run, details of which the group has not disclosed.

Chisholm said it would have a 19-member board that includes public representation, but the names of the board members are not public. The board is “really in the infancy stage,” she said.

Emails between the VNA and Chisholm suggest that a neighborhood association member could be invited on the board.

Maia told The Current she didn’t have any clarity about what those responsibilities would entail or what such a role would be.

Chisholm, who is also an attorney at Bouhan Falligant, said she was told by Shearouse at the council meeting that there were “just a few more questions” that had to be addressed.

She said that he told her that the city was “getting answers to the councilmen” and that he didn’t foresee any further problems “when it comes up” again.