DAWSONVILLE - The future of Lake Lanier was the main topic at the Lake Lanier Association political forum Thursday night, and one Forsyth County commissioner announced that his board is taking the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to court.
David Richard said the commission voted unanimously on Thursday to file an injunction against the Corps to stop the YMCA's lease of Bethel Park, located on the shores of Lake Lanier, for a YMCA camp.
"It's the next step we need to take in order to make sure that the park is kept available for all the residents and not just a few," Richard said.
Richard said the YMCA camp would serve about 3,000 children; he said 22,000 people used the park when it was fully running and open.
Twenty candidates for Congress, the state legislature and county commissioners from four counties fielded questions.
Val Perry with the Association said members are frustrated with incumbent politicians over what they feel is no progress on restoring Lake Lanier.
"They keep hearing we're trying to do this and the lake keeps going down," he said.
Perry is a member of a local delegation headed to Washington next month to meet with Corps officials about raising the lake's level.
An Association member said he wanted to put misinformation about the lake to rest.
Wilton Rooks said the Corps of Engineers is not releasing any water for endangered aquatic species in Florida.
"The only water coming out of Lake Lanier right now is for water quality and water supply for the City of Atlanta," Rooks said.
Frustrated Association members said they wanted more help in restoring the lake from state and federal legislators.
Thursday
October 17th, 2024
10:15PM
