Commissioners vote for Cool Springs ball fields

GAINESVILLE - There will be ball fields at Cool Springs Park. Hall County Commissioners voted 3-2 Thursday night to choose option three based on a proposal from Commissioner Billy Powell to at least build ball fields at the site. Construction will begin in about 60 days, and it will take 90-120 days to complete the fields, according to Public Works & Utilities Director Ken Rearden.
Costing an estimated $1.6 million, the county will develop a "mid range" facility at Cool Springs.The turf fields will include irrigation and fencing, a bathroom facility, and a gravel parking lot. Though lights will not be installed this year due to the cost, power lines will be run to the fields for the possibility of future lighting.

The original plans also called for covered dugouts, bullpens and concession stands, which will not be built at this time to conserve funds. Commissioners have decided not to proceed with plans for a fully developed park on the 75 acres donated to the county. The "no" votes came from Craig Lutz and Scott Gibbs, who feared the Nopone Road Park in Gibbs' district might lose funding.

KEEP SOME DOWNTOWN

Commissioners also voted 3-2 to keep the tag and tax office and tax assessors office in downtown Gainesville and move the rest of the county administration to the Liberty Mutual building on Browns Bridge Road on a motion from Ashley Bell. Bell represents Gainesville and argued that moving everything out of downtown would hurt business.
Chairman Tom Oliver and Commissioner Billy Powell were opposed; Oliver said leaving some county offices downtown conflicts with the county's plan to put all offices and services under one roof.

BLALOCK BACK

Commissioners also approved a motion to allow former county attorney Bill Blalock to continue to do legal work for the sheriff's office at the request of Sheriff Steve Cronic, provided they show there is no business relationship between Blalock's Gainesville law firm and any county commissioner. Holland and Knight from Atlanta remains the county's interim law firm.

GLADES COST SAVINGS

Commissioners agreed to seek a request for quotes and proposals on the engineering for the Glades Farm Reservoir project while retaining the current engineering firm and agreed to have staff review the project's business plan to show how the county would pay for the giant reservoir in North Hall.

FORMER FINANCE DIR LANDS TOP JOB

Chairman Tom Oliver said things were definitely picking up for former county finance director Michaela Thompson, one of the department heads who was let go when the new commission majority took office in January. Oliver announced that Thompson goes to work next month in Savannah as the finance director for the Georgia Ports Authority.

"She will be in control of a $61-billion revenue stream," Oliver said.

Thompson was replaced in early January by interim finance director Lisa Johnsa from Gwinnett County.