Dougherty County Commission to consider greenspace master plan

ALBANY — A representative of Dougherty County’s Greenspace Advisory Committee asked the Dougherty County Commission Monday to redirect special-purpose local-option sales tax funds to finance a redesign of the county’s greenspace master plan. The updated plan would allow the county to better utilize trails that are already a part of the 7-mile corridor.

Bill Swan said a comprehensive plan is needed to show “gaps” in the greenspace corridor that might be incorporated into a continuous series of trails from Chehaw Park at the northern end of the county to Radium Springs and beyond to the south.

“If planned properly, we could tie the (greenspace) trails together to better serve our community,” Swan said. “The idea is to entice ecotourism. We could unite our greenspace trails with the Rails-to-Trails project and provide a comprehensive series of trails that would serve pedestrians, bicyclists and equestrians.

“We’ll even look at the possibility of handicap access and providing stopping-off points along the trails where families could picnic. Of course, there are those who say equestrians and pedestrians don’t mix — I don’t know if the pedestrians scare the equestrians or the equestrians scare the pedestrians — so a master plan would allow us to take all of those things into consideration.”

County Administrator Richard Crowdis said there is slightly less than $81,000 in SPLOST V that could be redirected toward creation of a master plan. Crowdis noted that there is still funding in SPLOST IV that could be utilized for additional greenspace purchases if needed.

Swan said that by redirecting funds from redesign/acquisition to planning/development, the Greenspace Advisory Committee could present a comprehensive plan that would tie into the city’s efforts to revitalize its downtown.

County Attorney Spencer Lee recused himself from discussion of the greenspace funding issue because he is involved with the Rails-to-Trails project that could possibly tie in with the city’s greenspace plan.