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City outlines funding for new park

By JOHN THOMPSON
jthompson@TheCitizenNews.com

In less than a month, the city of Senoia should be the owner of 47 acres of new park property.

During Monday night’s City Council work session, city administrator Richard Ferry outlined ways the city could pay the $665,000 price tag for the property on Pylant Street.

The administrator told the city that he had just received confirmation of receipt of a grant from the Land and Water Conservation Fund. The city had applied for a $100,000 grant, and although Ferry was not able to confirm the amount of the grant received, he felt sure it was for the entire $100,000.

Ferry also said the city had earmarked $200,000 for parks and $200,000 for museums in a Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax passed by Senoia voters in 2001.

The museum portion of the SPLOST had originally been earmarked for restoration of the Buggy Shop Museum in downtown Senoia. But Councilman Bill Wood wondered if the old historic building on the Pylant Street property couldn’t be considered a museum.

Ferry said it probably could, since the city only said funds would be used for a museum, and did not specify a particular one.

If all the SPLOST and grant funds were used, that still leaves the city $165,000 short in funds to purchase the property. Ferry said the city has $102,000 in impact fees set aside for park restoration. But, Ferry added, he was not sure if those funds could be used for land purchases.

The other option would be to use money from the unreserved funds in the city’s general fund budget. Currently, the city has $907,000 in unreserved funds.

“That represents 68 percent of the city’s annual budget, which our auditor tells us is excellent,” Ferry said.

Councilman Bill Wood suggested determining if impact fees could be used for land purchase. If they can, he suggested using the $102,000 from impact fees and $63,000 from the general fund. If not, he said all the money should be taken from the general fund.

Councilman Tony Miller agreed, and Mayor Bob Hannah reiterated how important the park was for the city.

“I still think this is an opportunity the city will never have again,” he said.