Newspaper Page Text
PAGE 4A
Court battle brewing over Bethel Park
to file records with
By Frank Reddy
Staff Writer
The battle over Bethel Park
appears headed to federal
court.
Stung that the U.S. Army
Corps of Engineers did not
choose the county’s plan to
manage the park, the Forsyth
County Commission on
Thursday directed County
Attorney Ken Jarrard to begin
legal action.
The commission also
asked Jarrard to file an open
records request to determine
the basis of the corps’ deci¬
sion to turn over control of
62-acre lakeside park in
northeastern Forsyth to the
YMCA of Metropolitan
Atlanta.
The county, which has
leaded several other corps
parks, proposed running
Bethel as a 75-site camp¬
ground with a day-use ar&a
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File photo
This cove is part of Bethel Park, which the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has agreed
to turn over to the YMCA of Metropolitan Atlanta.
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FORSYTH COUNTY NEWS — Sunday, June 8, 2008
open to the general public.
The YMCA’s $20 million
plan for a private camp calls
for cabins, a marina, sports
fields, dining hall, amphithe¬
ater, chapel and outdoor pool.
“The Y’s proposal was
believed to be in the best pub¬
lic interest,” said Patrick
Robbins, a spokesman in the
corps district office in Mobile,
Ala. “It was not a rushed deci¬
sion ... (the corps] looked at
both proposals and made their
decision.”
The corps’ choice upset
Harry Foster, who lives on
Swiss Air Road near the park.
-. I’m asking that the board
do as they said they’d do and
seek an injunction against the
corps,” Foster said at a com¬
mission meeting Thursday.
“It’s time to make the corps
pay attention to their own
rules. "
Commission Chairman
Charles Laughinghouse con-
tends the corps did not follow
its own rules. He said the
corps should have given the
county right of first refusal
before the contract was
offered to the YMCA.
“The corps has rules, and
they like to throw them in
everybody’s face, but they
don’t like following them, "
Laughinghouse said.
Laughinghouse called an
executive session following
Thursday’s commission meet¬
ing to discuss the issue.
“This is important for a
number of citizens in
Forsyth,” he said. “But it’s not
just people in Forsyth. People
in Hall County and
Gainesville frequent Bethel
Park as well.”
Laughinghouse and
Commissioner David
Richard are concerned that
residents will have difficulty
accessing Lake Lanier if the
YMCA turns the park into a
private camp.
Richard, whose district
includes the park, said he’s
also worried about traffic and
safety issues a YMCA camp
could cause,
.. It’s a tiny road that goes
to Bethel Park,” Richard said.
Every day that camp’s open
there will be a line of cars
blocking residents from leav
ing their houses,
He added that the traffic
issues could cause questions
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of safety.
“If there’s an accident at
that park, if somebody gets
hurt, they’re going to have a
tough time getting an ambu
lance in and out of there,”
Richard said.
The YMCA has been try
ing since 2003 to develop a
residential camp at the site,
The corps was set to award
the lease to the YMCA in
2006, but residents com¬
plained to the county com-
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mission.
To compensate for giving
Bethel to the YMCA, the
corps has proposed enhancing
the amenities at another near¬
by corps property, Two-Mile
Park.
Richard said he didn’t
think Two-Mile Park could
accommodate the resulting
boat and car traffic from such
a shift.
E-mail Frank Reddy at
frankreddy@forsythnews.com.
Hours: Mon-Fri 10-7
Sat 10-6, Closed Sun