MEMPHIS (AP) — A private group headed by a county commissioner used anonymous donations to purchase two parks from the city of Memphis, remove two Confederate statues and keep the parks running at their current level.

Shelby County Commissioner Van Turner heads the group, known as Memphis Greenspace Inc. He said at a news conference Thursday that the statues are at an undisclosed location.

Mayor Jim Strickland says Memphis Greenspace filed incorporation papers in October. Turner says its 501(c)(3) nonprofit application is pending.

The City Council voted unanimously on Wednesday to sell two parks where Confederate statues were located. Crews worked to remove a statue of Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest and, at the second park, a statue of Confederate President Jefferson Davis.

Strickland says Greenspace legally was allowed to remove the statues, but the city wasn't.