What started out as a Good Samaritan effort has now evolved into a federal case.

Members of Fayette County's New Hope Baptist Church thought they would help out the surrounding community by installing playground equipment in one of Senoia's housing projects.

Workers carefully assembled monkey bars and placed them in a small park near Ray Street for the city's lower income residents to enjoy. When they left the site, the members thought that the city's children would enjoy the playground equipment for years to come.

Unfortunately, the New Hope members did not realize the intricacies of the federal bureaucracy. The equipment that members poured in sweat equity to assemble now sits in a pile at the park because federal officials had already scheduled to put a basketball court where the helpful churchgoers installed the playground equipment.

Mayor Joan Trammell told representatives from the church during Monday night's city council meeting that the city appreciated the church's effort, but that the communication channels broke down between the different entities trying to make the area more livable for the residents.

The city of Senoia does not have an executive director of its housing authority, so many decisions are made at the Newnan office.

The Newnan office was unaware of the church's generous donation and had already scheduled a basketball court to be erected at the site.

When workers came to lay the asphalt for the court, they discovered the playground equipment in their way.