Wednesday, Mar. 9, 2005 | ||
Bad Links? | Commission splits 3-2 for nonprofits using Heritage ParkBy JOHN THOMPSON What constitutes a church? That was just one of the issues the Fayette County Commission debated last week during a protracted discussion on establishing a policy for the use of county property. After a lengthy debate, the County Commission by a 3-2 vote directed staff to include a statement in the policy that would limit the use of the countys building and grounds to government and non-profit agencies. But county attorney Bill McNally warned the County Commission that they could be treading down a dangerous road. Non-profit is a very broad term, he said. The central part of the debate concerned whether church activities would be allowed in Heritage Park. Heritage Park is located directly in front of the county complex on Stonewall Avenue and has been the site of many a community celebration, including the 1996 Olympic Torch run. Currently, the county allows Main Street to use the park for its Christmas celebration, but has drawn the line at allowing religious groups to use the facility until a new policy was established. While the County Commission said they did not have a problem with any religion, they wondered how opening up Heritage Park to religious groups would affect the access of the park to other groups. When asked what constitutes the legal definition of a church, McNally said that two people could say they had a church and be allowed to use the park. If you allow them to use the park, you would also have to allow non-religious groups to use it, McNally said. Commissioner A.G. VanLandingham said he didnt have a problem with it. Id like to see who these scalawags are, he said. Commissioner Linda Wells said she feared what could happen by opening up use to other groups besides government agencies. If you allow all non-profits, you could have a group having a garage sale at the park every weekend, Commissioner Linda Wells said. Wells advocated letting non-profits use the meeting room at the library, and limiting access at the park, because the park is a far more visible location and could cause people to stop and participate in situations that could get out of hand. But VanLandingham said he was favor of more public access for the facilities. That park is perfectly suited for non-profit groups to use, he said. All the board members agreed that the use of Heritage Park would also only allow access to the bathrooms at the center of the county complex and not allowing the public to roam through the countys offices. Commissioners VanLandingham, Herb Frady and Peter Pfeifer voted to expand the use of Heritage Park to include non-profits, while Commissioners Greg Dunn and Linda Wells voted against it. The measure will now be written into the complete policy that the board will approve at a later date. |
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