County gets green grant

By JOHN THOMPSON
jthompson@thecitizennews.com

Coweta County officials are hoping to keep Coweta green.

Officials announced the county had received a $15,000 grant from the Georgia Forestry Commission to create a joint green space for the county and its municipalities.
Once the plan is developed, the county will be eligible to receive funds under Gov. Roy BarnesÕ new Greenspace Trust Fund.

In a letter to the county, the Chattahoochee-Flint Regional Development Center outlined a timeline for obtaining funding under the governorÕs proposal.

By September, the county will have hired consultants for the plan and will conduct public meetings in October to get public input on the proposal.
From October through the end of the year, an inventory will be taken of all the countyÕs green space lands.
Through the early part of next year, a plan will be drafted and reviewed by the community, with the final plan to be presented next July.
The county will participate, along with all the municipalities and the Chamber of Commerce, 21st Century Coweta, Newnan Utilities and the Coweta County Farm Bureau.

Once the plan is completed, Chatt.-Flint officials believe more residents in the community will understand the benefits of tree cover in the county and help to protect and manage the existing forest resources.