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PAGE 6A - THE COMMERCE (GA) NEWS, WEDNESDAY. JANUARY 16, 2008
Rec Director Pitches Feb. 5 Bond Vote
$15 Million Proposed To Buy Land, Build Variety Of Facilities
Does Jackson County need
more parkland, an indoor aquatic
center, a “field of dreams" for peo
ple with disabilities and a covered
agricultural exposition center?
Voters will resolve that ques
tion Feb. 5 when they participate
in a $15 million recreation bond
issue being held the same day as
the presidential preference pri
maries.
Those items — and the addition
of soccer, tennis and football facil
ities at West Jackson and Lamar
Murphy parks — are on the wish
list the Jackson County Parks and
Recreation Department hopes to
fund if voters give the go-ahead.
Recreation Director Ricky
Sanders addressed the Commerce
Kiwanis Club last Thursday about
the department’s plans and the
bond referendum.
It all began, he said, when the
county got a $10,000 grant in 2000
and used it to create a 10-year
“recreation master plan," which
was adopted in 2002. The county
is in the fifth year of that plan.
“It called for everything we are
going to do on Feb. 5," Sanders
said.
Jackson County takes in about
$800,000 per year in SPLOST
(special purpose local option sales
tax) money, but Sanders says it
isn’t enough to keep up with the
demand for parks and services in
the 27th fastest-growing county in
America.
A flyer promoting the referen
dum touts the following benefits:
•a recreation center adjacent
to Lamar Murphy Park compris
ing two multi-purpose basketball
courts, an eight-lane indoor pool
that includes an aerobic pool
with zero entry and kid play
area and which is built to stan
dards for high school competi
tive swimming; two racquetball
courts, meeting rooms, a ban
quet room and the parks and rec
office.
• the purchase of 340-plus acres
of parkland, including 79 on
Holiday Cemetery Road, 80 on
Creek Nation Road, 22 adjacent
to Hurricane Shoals Park, 100 in
the Plainview area, and 20 adja
cent to Lamar Murphy Park.
• a “field of dreams" facility for
people with disabilities.
•a covered arena/exposition
center next to Hurricane Shoals
Park.
•the addition of a large soccer
field and tennis courts at West
Jackson Park.
• the addition of a soccer/foot
ball stadium with restroom and
concession building at Lamar
Murphy Park.
The county either has options
or agreements with individuals for
all of the land it hopes to acquire,
Sanders said.
Half of the bond money would
go toward acquiring land, which
Sanders noted, “is as cheap now
as it’s ever going to be" and which
he says is needed to accommo
date the future recreation needs.
Participation in the county’s pro
grams grew by 12 percent last
year, he said.
Swim Facility
“The big question I always hear
is why don’t we have swim pro
grams?" Sanders told the Kiwanis
Club. “The local schools are get
ting pressure to have competitive
swim teams."
Thus, the centrally located
aquatic center would be built to
Georgia High School Association
standards for competition, and
would be available to any of the
local high schools desiring to
have such a program.
Sanders called the “field of
dreams" a “Miracle field" — an
asphalt multipurpose facility that
would enable wheelchair athletes
to play basketball, soccer or other
sports.
“We have a lot of these folks
in the county," he stated. “This
is something to be very excited
about and very proud of."
As for the exposition center,
Sanders said it could be used for
cattle shows and horse shows —
possibly even as a center point
for a county agricultural fair. It
would have a 100 by 210 floor and
would cost $500,000 to $1 million
to build, he projected.
Alcohol Sales
Voters will also decide Feb. 5
whether the Sunday sale of liquor
by the drink will be allowed in
Jackson County. Sanders did not
take up that subject.
City School System Eyes Energy Savings
Consulting Firm Promises Utility Savings Of20-50 Percent
By Ben Munro
A $300,000-a-year energy bill
has the city school board think
ing about how it can trim those
costs.
With plans already in mind
to overhaul inefficient heating,
ventilation and air conditioning
units on school campuses, the
Commerce Board of Education
(BOE) is now considering hiring
an energy consulting company
called Line to maximize the sys
tem’s energy efficiency.
School leaders, who heard a
presentation from Line at this
past Thursday’s BOE work ses
sion, have until Feb. 11 to draft a
letter of intent for services.
Officials from the company
estimated Thursday that they
could find ways to save city
schools anywhere from 20 to
50 percent in energy expenses.
More specific figures will follow
next month when Line comes
back to talk to the board. The
school board will also learn how
much the program will cost dur
ing that meeting.
“If they can save as much
money as they say they can 10
years down the road, it’s worth
our while," board member Arthur
Lee Pattman said.
Contracting for energy-saving
management would add to the
efforts school leaders want to
make to save energy dollars. The
school board has said it wants to
replace antiquated HVAC units
at the primary and elementary
schools, which are driving up
energy costs. At the new middle
school, where units are only a
few years old, the school lead
ers want to conserve energy by
installing computerized controls
to regulate when those systems
are running.
“If we can save some money
in the mean time and work
with a group of individuals that
will help you be better, more
resourceful with your dollars
and be better stewards of your
finances, then that’s what we
want to do," superintendent
James E. “Mac" McCoy said of
contracting with Line.
The company could also assist
Commerce schools with its ener
gy plans for the new Commerce
High School. In fact, McCoy said
architects have already referred
him to Line.
The system has granted Line
permission to go forth with a
preliminary engineering study
of the school system buildings,
which will uncover 85-90 of the
findings Line needs for the proj
ect. After that study, Line will
make a specific projection of the
savings Commerce schools will
be looking at under the plan.
Frank Foster of Line told the
school board that the company
guarantees the savings it projects.
Should the estimate be incorrect,
Line will reimburse Commerce
schools the difference.
“It’s very attractive," McCoy
said. “It’s almost a win-win sys
tem for Commerce."
Foster noted that the company
saved Murray County Schools,
a much larger system than
Commerce, $779,440 in the first
year of a energy conservation
program, covering the entire cost
of the Line program.
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Benton Votes To
Override 10 Of
Perdue's 12 Vetoes
By Angela Gary
During Monday’s open
ing of the legislative ses
sion, the Georgia House of
Representatives voted to over
ride the governor’s veto of
12 bills from last year. Rep.
Tommy Benton, who represents
Jackson County, voted to over
ride all but two of the vetoes.
The action could spark anoth
er nasty political fight between
the state House and Gov. Sonny
Perdue. The votes were viewed
by most political observers as a
move by House leaders to reas
sert authority under the Gold
Dome.
“Yesterday was interesting,"
Benton said Tuesday morning.
“We voted to override a dozen
bills that the governor had
vetoed at the end of last year.
I voted for all of them, except
for two. It is something that
doesn’t happen very often. It
doesn’t mean anything unless
the Senate takes them up. We
believe they are supposed
to take it up right away, but
the Senate doesn’t think they
have to ... It might have come
back to bite some of the folks
who voted for the override
votes."
Both of the overrides that
Benton did not support dealt
with tax breaks.
“One was for giving tax
exempt status to the Atlanta
Symphony Orchestra for con
struction of a performing arts
center in Alpharetta," Benton
said. “I think they should have
to pay sales tax like every
one else does. The other was
sales tax exemption for the
Chattahoochee Nature Center.
That could be as much as
$350,000.1 felt like that is a lot
of money."
Major Issues
Benton said the major issues
looming this legislative ses
sion will be water, transpor
tation, House Speaker Glenn
Richardson’s controversial tax
plan and a child predator bill
that the Supreme Court over
turned.
“There are also a lot of little
issues that are important to one
group or another," he said.
As for the water crisis, Benton
said he has reviewed a rec
ommendation from the water
council.
“The plan looks good," he
said. “There is one little point
that I have a problem with. It’s
with the North Metro area.
Atlanta is guaranteed water.
I don’t think any one area
should be guaranteed water
over another area. There needs
to be something done about
that. The rest of the water plan
looks good.”
Benton added that he isn’t
aware of any local legislation
that any of the governments in
Jackson County will be request
ing.
“We have been looking at rais
ing the exemption on property
tax for senior citizens," he said.
“Right now, we are just in the
talking stages. It would raise
the level of exemption to a total
of $60,000. It is $20,000 now.
I’m waiting to hear back from
the school systems to see what
they want to do."
Benton also said he expects
it to be a “contentious ses
sion" because of the ongo
ing fight between Perdue and
Richardson.
“I think it will be a contentious
session mainly because of the
friction between the governor
and speaker and the lieutenant
governor," he said. “It will work
out. Everybody says this is hap
pening with the Republicans,
but if you go back to Zell Miller
and Tom Murphy, they didn’t
get along real well. They were
both Democrats. It’s just a dif
ference of philosophy. It will be
an interesting year. I’m looking
forward to it."
Benton can be reached at 404-
656-0177 (office in Atlanta), 706-
367-5891 (home in Jefferson) or
by e-mail at tommy.benton@
house.ga.gov. His web site is
www.tommybenton.com.
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