For more than a year, Hall County residents who live on Gainesville's southside have been waiting for a federal grant to be awarded so construction can begin on Butler Park.
Hall County Commissioner Jeff Stowe, who represents the district, said the excitement over being named a grant finalist last fall has turned to disappointment and frustration.
"They've been frustrated for many, many years because the southside has been underserved by our parks department...so one of my pledges when I first got into office was that we would look for some park opportunities in that area," Stowe said. "We ended up deciding on a site the county already partially owned and with some negotiations in getting land donated from Fieldale [Farms], we were able to get to a point last July to make this application to come up with the funding to actually build the park."
The site is located just off Athens Street behind the public health department. Some grading has already taken place on the property.
The Georgia Department of Natural Resources selected Hall County's grant application for $536,500 - along with an application from the city of Roswell - to send on to the national level. To date, there's been no word on the grant award.
Stowe said the county first heard the award would be made on March 1, 2019. The date came and went with no announcement, and then Stowe said he was told news of the award would come by the end of September.
The county has already earmarked $250,000 for the $1.5 million project, but the money can't be spent without possibly jeopardizing the federal award.
Stowe on Thursday asked his fellow commissioners to draft a letter to the National Parks Office, 9th District Congressman Doug Collins, Georgia Senators David Purdue and Johnny Isakson and Gov. Brian Kemp, requesting permission to use the money already set aside for Butler Park and still be considered for the grant.
"We still want the grant funds, but we've got this money and if we can go ahead and start spending our money, there's a lot of projects that we can get done," Stowe said.
If the county does get a waiver, Stowe said he thinks the $250,000 would be enough to build a pavilion and a playground on the property. Plans for walking trails, a basketball court, a multi-use field and a water feature would have to wait.
"Hopefully, we can move forward and start making a difference out there," Stowe said.
