Discussion of the planned Conference Center dominated last night’s meeting of the Richmond Hill City Council.

County resident Lynda Morse asked the mayor and council to allow people to vote on whether they want the project to be placed inside J.F. Gregory Park. She brought with her a signed petition bearing signatures of others who oppose the project.

Mayor Richard Davis said if those people opposed to the conference center had all the details, they would be less likely to oppose it. He showed a few slides that displayed what the final product is scheduled to look like, a copy of the SPLOST ballot that includes the conference center listed on it and a map of the park where he attempted to show how this project will not greatly disturb the park as it is now.

Davis also said this is a community project and will be a home to many future events that locals will no longer have to commute to Savannah for. He also warned those who are pushing the “Save the Park” campaign, saying approaching people such as “mothers in the park watching their children” are inappropriate “and maybe illegal.” He said.

See more in Saturday’s Bryan County News.