Sunday, February 24, 2002
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Sunday, February 24, 2002 |
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Fayetteville looking at water discounts for seniors By MONROE ROARK
Fayetteville is set to receive $72,736 from the state to help make it greener. The city was awarded the money recently through the Georgia Greenspace Program and the City Council authorized Mayor Kenneth Steele to sign the grant agreement at Thursday night's regular council meeting. The purpose of the statewide grant program is "to promote the adoption in developed and rapidly developing areas of the state of policies, rules and regulations which will have the effect of preserving at least 20 percent of the land area as connected and open greenspace which can be utilized for informal recreational activities and protection of natural resources," according to the statute which created the program. The money does come with a few stipulations. The city must use the funds for the purchase of property within Fayette County, and all of the money must be spent within 24 months. The Georgia Department of Natural Resources, which oversees the greenspace program, is to be kept up to date on land purchases and any money not spent at the end of the 24-month period must be returned to DNR. City Manager Joe Morton said after Thursday night's meeting that the first project to be undertaken with these funds is the purchase of land under the settlement agreement with Dr. P.K. Dixon which was also approved at the same meeting. This agreement, which ends several years of litigation, calls for the city to purchase nearly 100 acres of land from the Dixon tract, and Dixon is then to donate about 188 acres of flood plain to the city some time after that. Part of the Dixon tract also contains a portion of the Lakeside on Redwine subdivision now under consideration by the Planning and Zoning Commission for annexation, per a request by John Wieland Homes, the developer of Lakeside.
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