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FAYETTE COUNTY (1) NEWS
f ay ett e-news, net
Vol. 152, No. 3
Wednesday, January 17, 2024
$1.00
Commission OKs Rezoning for Proposed National Soccer Facility Site
Luke Haney
Editor
lhaney@upsonbeacon.com
Public hearings related
to requests to rezone four
adjoining parcels, intended
as the future site of U.S.
Soccer Federation’s training
center and corporate head
quarters, led to nearly 3.5
hours of discussion prior to
Fayette County Commis
sioners unanimously ap
proving requests with con
ditions during the Jan. 11
commission meeting.
Fayette County Devel
opment Authority Executive
Director Niki Vanderslice,
petitioner for the four par
cels fronting Veterans Park
way and Lee’s Mill Road,
addressed commissioners,
detailing large-scale invest
ments made in the com
munity in part due to efforts
and assistance of the devel
opment authority, like Tril-
ith Studios and the incom
ing QTS Data Center,
providing economic impact
results prior to explaining
the potential benefits of re
zoning approximately 321
acres from single-family
residential to agricultural-
residential.
According to Vanders
lice, when the land for Tril-
ith Studios and the Town of
Trilith was first purchased
in 2013, the land was valued
at $780,000 and contrib
uted $10,000 annually to
the tax base, while the land
is now valued at more than
$183 million and contrib
uted $1.3 million to the tax
digest last year.
FCDA recently com
pleted a study of the film in
dustry’s economic impact
between 2018 and 2022
and, although the study has
yet to be released, Vanders
lice said the “most impor
tant piece of the findings” is
that the film industry had a
$1.4 billion impact in the
five-year period.
When fully built, Van
derslice says the 600-acre
QTS property contributed
$37,000 to the tax base in
2021, yet contribute
$120,000 in 2023 with no
buildings on site.
She also took time to an
swer questions that have
often been asked surround
ing the project, stating that
the facility is intended to
have 12-14 fields to serve 27
national soccer teams, will
not have a stadium, and will
not sell alcohol.
While the federation has
met with members of local
governments and the soccer
community, Vanderslice as
sured throughout the meet-
See Commission, A5
Fayette Celebrates
MLK Day with Parade
Commissioners
Authorize Issuance
of $35 Million Bond
Qualifying
Fees Set for
2024 Elections
Fayette County Com
missioners approved a res
olution last week to set the
following qualifying fees for
Fayette’s upcoming 2024
elections:
Board of Education
(Districts 1, 3, and 5): $306;
Clerk of Superior Court:
$2,591.45; County Commis
sion (Districts 1, 2, and 5):
$672.16; Coroner: $108;
Magistrate Judge:
$2,643.28; Probate Court
Judge: $2,591.45; Sheriff:
$2,891.45; Solicitor General
- State Court: $3,055.28;
Tax Commissioner:
$2,591.45.
Qualifying begins Mon
day, March 4 at 9 a.m. and
will end at noon on Friday,
March 8. The general pri
mary election will be held
on Tuesday, May 21, with
the general election slated
Tuesday, Nov. 5.
Opinions, A4:
•Jack Bernard: Biden’s
Bind.
•Charlie Harper: State
of State: Flush with Cash;
Many Issues to Address.
•James Studdard: Eve
Raised: A Novel by a St.
Paul Apologist.
•Scott Ludwig: Can I
Quote You on That?
Leah Banks
Senior Reporter
leah@fayette-news.net
FAYETTE — On Jan. 15,
the frigid temperatures did
not stop Fayette County or
ganizations and government
officials from gathering to
celebrate the life, dedication,
and hard work of Dr. Martin
Luther King, Jr. with 2024
annual Martin Luther King,
Jr. Parade.
Citizens and spectators
lined the streets of Stonewall
Avenue as Fayetteville
Mayor Edward Johnson led
the parade along with
members of the Fayetteville
City Council and various
local elected officials.
The parade continued
with celebrations and rec
ognitions from the Fayette
County Branch of the
NAACP and the Fayette
County NAACP Youth
Council. Rounding out the
second wave of riders was
Fayette County Community
Remembrance Coalition and
the Greater Georgia Black
Chamber of Commerce.
Throughout the parade,
National Panhellenic Coun
cil organizations, such as
Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority
Inc., Alpha Phi Alpha Fra
ternity Inc., Omega Psi Phi
Fraternity Inc., Phi Beta
Sigma Fraternity Inc., and
Zeta Phi Beta Sorority Inc.
marched alongside one
another.
As the event progressed
children and bands danced
and sang along to tunes of
“Happy Birthday.”
See additional images at
www.fayette-news.net.
Luke Haney
Editor
lhaney@upsonbeacon.com
Fayette County Commis
sioners unanimously ap
proved authorization for staff
to issue the $35 million Fay
ette County Public Facilities
Authority Revenue Bonds
(Fayette County Projects),
Series 2024, last Thursday to
expedite multiple projects
approved through the 2023
special purpose local options
sales tax.
Funds will be used to fi
nance the acquisition, con
struction, and equipping of
all or a portion of a recrea
tion multi-use facility, a
backup emergency 911
center, renovations to the
justice center, and storm
water improvement projects.
With an issuance amount
of $33.1 million and expected
issuance costs between
$399,000 and $450,000,
County Manager Steve Rap-
son told commissioners the
county will end up with
about $2 million more by
spending the funds within
three years to avoid interest
arbitrage.
Bond funds are to be re
paid through revenues re
ceived from the 2023
SPLOST.
“Bonds are currently in
verted,” Rapson commented.
“The borrowing cost is less
than the investment costs...
because of timing and inter
est rates associated.”
Commission Chairman
Lee Hearn emphasized the
importance of the bond al
lowing for projects to be ex
pedited as county residents
voted for the SPLOST and
associated projects, adding
that they are “glad to get this
going.”
Commissioners first ap
proved staffs request to pro
ceed with the bond issuance
on Nov. 9, 2023.
Unanimous approval to
authorize bond issuance in
cluded a closing date on Feb.
8 and for the county to utilize
the services of Stifel, Nico
laus & Company as under
writers; Murray, Barnes,
Finister, LLP as bond coun
sel; McNally, Fox, Grant &
Daveport P.C. as the county
attorney and the county’s
current auditing firm; and
Nichols, Cauley & Associates
to execute the refinancing
process.
In other news, to begin
the meeting, commissioners
held 2024 board elections,
where Hearn and Commis
sioner Edward Gibbons were
both unanimously elected to
serve as chairman and vice
chairman, respectively.
Local Nonprofit Set to
Honor Nellie Mae Rowe
in Posthumous Tribute
Leah Banks
Senior Reporter
leah@fayette-news.net
To kick off Black History
Month, The Colorful Arts
Society, Inc., a local non
profit that promotes multi
cultural arts, has announced
that it will honor the life and
works of artist and Fay
etteville native Nellie Mae
Rowe.
The celebration will be
held on Jan. 28 from 2-5
p.m., when CAS will present
a memorial bench at Rowe’s
gravesite, followed by a
screening of her documen
tary, “This World is Not My
Own.”
The program will be
held at Flat Rock AME
Church, located at 148 Old
Chapel Lane in Fayetteville,
_
The late Nellie Mae Rowe
the oldest black church in
Fayette County, where
Rowe is buried.
According to the Na
tional Museum of Women
in the Arts, Rowe’s artistic
history plays into her up
bringing in rural Georgia
and her travels as she ven
tured beyond to life in the
See Rowe, A5
County Tag Office
Celebrates Renovation
The Fayette County Tag and Tax
Commissioner’s Office held a ribbon
cutting ceremony for its grand reo
pening on Jan. 11.
The office, located at 140 Stone
wall Avenue, Suite log, in historic
doivntoivn Fayetteville, closed on
Nov. 6, 2023, for renovation. The of
fice reopened ivith afresh, new look
on Jan. 5.
Tax Commissioner Kristie King
cut the ceremonial ribbon, adding,
“This could not have happened with
out a lot of teamivork from the
county. I’m loving it, the staff is lov
ing it, and so are the citizens. We are
so happy to be here with our neiv
countertops, our fresh paint, and our
neiv floors. ”
Brigitte Greer/Fayette News
INSIDE:
FAYETTE VIEWS
SPORTS
A4 SCHOOL
B1 OBITUARIES
B2 LEGALS
A2 MEETINGS & EVENTS
B3
A3
CONTACT US: support@fayette-news.net - (770) 461-6317 - fayette-news.net
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