Friday, January 26, 2001
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Friday, January 26, 2001 |
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Coweta gets green grants Coweta County was one of the big winners this week in the governor's green space program Gov. Roy Barnes conducted a news conference earlier in the week at the State Capitol to review the progress of the Georgia Greenspace Program. Governor Barnes highlighted those counties that have successfully developed plans to acquire and protect greenspace. "The elected officials of these counties and cities have shown great leadership by developing programs which the Commission could approve," said Governor Barnes. "These officials recognize that quality of life is a key factor when businesses decide where to locate, and that greenspace helps Georgia's communities attract business and stay economically competitive." The Georgia Greenspace Commission met before the news conference and approved grants to three counties and several municipalities. The funds will help the local governments acquire and permanently protect green space. The approved grants are to: • Coweta County, $319,545; Grantville, $5,518; Newnan, $63,679; Senoia, $6,868; and Sharpsburg, $1,390. • Floyd County, Cave Spring and Rome jointly, $301,729. • Newton County, Covington, Mansfield, Newborn, Oxford and Porterdale jointly: $280,223. • City of Decatur (DeKalb County): $96,910.• City of Riverdale (Clayton County): $35,065. The grants approved to date exceed $12.1 million, or 40 percent of the state's first-year funding. Thirteen counties and 41 cities are now approved for funding. The commission had at previous meetings approved programs prepared by Bibb, Chatham, Clayton, DeKalb, Douglas, Effingham, Forsyth, Gwinnett, Jackson and Richmond counties and their participating cities. To qualify for funding, Georgia's urban or rapidly developing counties must submit greenspace programs to the State. The counties must commit to preserve at least 20 percent of their geographic areas as open and connected green space, which can be used for recreational activities and protection of natural resources. Green space consists of permanently protected land and water that protects water quality, scenic areas, wildlife habitat, historic resources or recreational opportunities such as jogging, biking, walking, camping, boating, hunting and fishing. Forty Georgia counties are eligible to receive grants from the Georgia Greenspace Program during fiscal year 2001, which ends June 30. These counties have a population of at least 60,000 or an average annual growth rate of 800 people. The General Assembly appropriated $30 million for green space grants during FY-2001. The counties' grant shares are proportional to their tax digests of residential real property. Five counties may receive more than one million dollars apiece: Fulton, $5.3 million; Cobb, $3.6 million; DeKalb and Gwinnett, $3.3 million each; and Chatham, $1.1 million. A city is eligible for state funding if it is within a participating county and if it elects to participate in the county's program. A city typically receives a share of the county's grant award that is proportional to the city's share of the county's population.
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