City Manager Allen Hendershot said Chesapeake Energy offered the city $2,800 per acre for 53 acres with 18.75 percent royalties. But the issue is that the natural gas pipeline would run under the ball fields.

"The actual drilling site can be very large and (City Council) didn't want that affecting our facilities," Hendershot said. "We're interested in selling the mineral rights, but don't want wells on our property."

He said City Council is waiting for Chesapeake to come back with an adjusted offer.

"There's the potential that the bid could go down because they would not have the opportunity to place a well on our site. There's also an opportunity as the prices fluctuate it could even go up," Hendershot said.

Because the city hasn't finalized a deal, he said it's too early to designate money the city could make from leasing the property to Chesapeake. However, Hendershot said there are definitely projects around the city that could use the extra source of funding.

"It could go to a lot of different areas. It could go to subsidize street paving. … There's a project in the winds to move the Police Department out of this facility and we've been offered another building. It would require some remodeling and there would be some costs involved. So, (the money) could be utilized in that area," he said.

Hendershot said he isn't sure when Chesapeake will come back with its offer. Once City Council has that offer, council members will discuss it at a public meeting. Hendershot also asked that residents come forward and voice their opinions on where they would like to see the potential extra money go.

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