About Flagpole. (Athens, Ga.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 17, 2011)
S * Vu « M&C, EDF Cautious in Blue Heron Funding Intrigued but wary, Athens-Clarke County commissioners discussed the "Blue Heron" development proposal for two hours last week—and the next day, board members of the Athens Economic Development Foundation agreed to fund the next moves to explore such a river district. A public-private partner ship to develop unused land between down town and the river is "a wonderful concept," Commissioner Kathy Hoard told consultant Ken Bleakley at last week's work session, but she and other commissioners had questions— especially about paying for the project, which would require the county to borrow $25 million. If the project is successful, much of that money would be repaid with increased tax revenues from the project itself, which would include "research park" offices, retail spaces, "live/work" residences and a hotel. But if it should fail, county taxpayers would still have to pay off the loan. "This has a lot of 'ifs' in it," Commissioner Harry Sims pointed out. In a year when the county has eliminated some jobs to save money, "this is not the time for us to be trying to find $100,000," he said. Site investigations (for example to determine if underground rock exists on the site, and to investigate cleanup costs of an old city dump and a coal gasification plant) would cost about that much before a decision can even be reached on issuing bonds to finance the project. Other commissioners were more enthusias tic: "I'm willing to take some risk, but I have to be cautious in that risk," said Kelly Girtz. Mike Hamby asked whether a private developer was prepared to step forward. That's the plan, consultant Ken Bleakly told Flagpole—but these days, developers want to be "spoon-fed" sites that are ready to go. "I think you're missing some things that are going elsewhere, because you don't have the existing inventory in place." If the county buys the land and installs infrastructure—then resells parcels to developers at a lower, subsi dized price—the developers can be expected to invest perhaps five times as much as the county in new buildings, creating hundreds of jobs and more tax revenue, Bleakley said. "It's a great piece of property," he said, "a great opportunity." But it will take time—a decade or more—to fully develop the kind of "knowledge-based" businesses that are already locating near Georgia Tech. "This will be a complex and long-term undertaking," he said, but the river district's location next to both UGA and downtown would draw such employers. "Many [UGA students] would love to stay and live in Athens, but can't find the opportunities." And few properties offer the proximity to both a vibrant downtown and a university. "We don't usually find both building blocks in place," Bleakly said. The site's steep topogra phy is a drawback, he admitted, but "we think people will go in there and figure out a way to do it." County Manager Alan Reddish called the consultant's report "pretty sound planning," but warned commissioners that a $25 million bond debt would amount to a half-mill tax increase if other financing methods fail. The Economic Development Foundation will hire a manager to do "a lot of office work and... get things moving in the right direc tion," EDF Director Matt Forshee told Flagpole, but it has alloted no funds to investigate underground rock or hazardous-waste cleanup costs. The foundation will also hire UGA's Carl Vinson Institute of Government to take a second look at the Bleakly report's revenue projections. But making only "a cursory review" of the report's numbers, Reddish warned commission ers, "is going to put you right back where you are." He urged them to "do this thing right, or not at all," and spend $100,000 to investigate the site. Mayor Nancy Denson asked commis sioners to consider the proposal and get back to her within a few days. The EDF will hire a temporary staffer to manage the project before the end of this week. John Huie Safe Routes to School Picking Up Momentum Most school children prefer to walk or bike to school, but their parents fear for their safety. "Safe Routes to Schools"—a program A (Zoo/Ub ToujAJ V£6T6ROAV » Bme DowfJ Alicer=o<,e A*/i*rJV6 THERE is so WUCM TfiAFPfC Acc or A supdeh THEV AO. MAD Ow THE SAfME DRE55 ojrrn SCf<ot4TLYDlfF£R€ijT PATTERNS Uy "DAVID WlACk. begun in Denmark and now reaching critical mass in Georgia (after being delayed by the state transportation department's reluctance to participate) provides sidewalks and safe street crossings between neighborhoods and schools. Several years ago, parents and the local transportation nonprofit BikeAthens initiated local "safe routes" programs at Barrow and Chase Street elementary schools; now, $1 mil lion in state funding has been promised to local schools. That money will buy upgraded signals, "brick-look" crosswalks and permanent radar speed signs in areas around Barrow, Chase, Gaines School Elementary and Hilsman Middle schools. Other schools are also eligible for funding, pending planning initiatives by schools or parents. Additional money for new sidewalks and signals will be provided by local sales tax money: already, sidewalks are planned or underway along parts of Barnett Shoals Road, Whit Davis Road, Oglethorpe Avenue and Old - Epps Bridge Road. Students are encouraged to walk if they live within a mile of school, and school programs to encourage walking are required for the state grants. 6REEU UFe AwO THERE uJERE HuMoQEOS oF6lR(,S (.»IORO UP iW PROMT DP THE SoBoRtTfES A UHH HH THErtTHev AU STARTED toScreAH AMO I Co-r Re*<_CT S<AReo Fo7 ASCCOaJD . m©Ajuevp-|K/6r»pL>. #v/£T ACC commissioners can build sidewalks wherever they choose with local money, but they usually defer to a points system to pick projects from a long list of sidewalk sugges tions made by citizens and county staffers. Locations get points for being near bus stops, schools or other destinations; "evidence of pedestrian traffic" like dirt paths; fast traffic; pedestrian signals and connectivity with other sidewalks, among others.' But several of the criteria used favor "major arterial" streets, ACC Transportation Director David Clark told commissioners last week, and to counter that "bias," he sug gested putting 30 percent of sidewalk money toward sidewalks in residential areas. With SPL0ST 2Q11, sidewalks are far better funded than in the past—side Iks and school signal improvements will average over $500,000 a year through Fiscal Year 2020—but not all residents want sidewalks near their homes (or don't want to lose part of their front yards), and commissioners have rarely been willing to force owners to sell their property to accom modate public facilities like sidewalks. John Huie Republic salon 312 E. BROAD ST. • 3RD FLOOR 706.208.5222 • FRIGIDAIRE BUILDING • ENTRANCE ON JACKSON ST. • WWW.REPUBLICSALON.COM • AUGUST17.2011-FLAGPOLE.COM 5
