A new "change of scope" application has reportedly been filed with the state to redirect a pair of large grant awards for turf upgrades to Yahoola Creek Park ballfields. That request is expected to ignore the recent recommendations of the Parks & Rec Citizen Advisory Board regarding the turf project.
Two awards totaling $2.8 million were announced for the park on May 18, 2023 as part of the Improving Neighborhood Outcomes in Disproportionately Impacted Communities (INODIC) grant program.
A $1.25 million award was expected to convert fields four and six, behind the Senior Center, into a new multipurpose field, while a $1.57 million award was set to convert the large soccer field into a multipurpose field with synthetic turf.
Last November, during their regular meeting, the Lumpkin County Board of Commissioners considered a recommendation from Parks & Rec Director Tim Towe and Assistant County Manager Rebecca Mincey that would redirect money for fields four and six to the clover leaf baseball fields instead.
But following a County Retreat held at the local library on January 10, which included a discussion of the synthetic turf project, Commissioner Tucker Greene indicated to The Nugget that a third plan seems to have gained traction that, if approved by the state, would see all $2.8 million used to “fully turf” the clover leaf fields. However, that would leave no grant money set aside for fields four and six or the large soccer field.
Parks & Rec Citizen Advisory Board member Shawn Boyd said he was not thrilled to hear about the change of scope for the project, and called the County’s decision “unfair” to children who play soccer.
Boyd said he would expect a recommendation from his board to “carry some kind of weight,” particularly since the grant has “been lingering as long as this one has.”
FIELDS OF GREENE
The Board of Commissioners Retreat took place on the same Friday morning that a large snowstorm rolled in to town, but Deputy County Clerk Helen Miller confirmed that the meeting did take place.
“It began at 8:30 a.m. and we wrapped up at 2:03 p.m. because of the snowfall,” Miller stated via e-mail. She said no votes took place during the meeting.
Greene reiterated that point while characterizing the conversation at the retreat for The Nugget: “There was some discussion, obviously nothing was voted on,” Greene said.
He said the chat ended with the board coalescing around “a potential opportunity” to fully turf the clover leaf fields.
“But, with that, there has to be a scope change submitted to the state to see if that’s even doable,” Greene continued. “So that’s kind of where it lies right now. Nothing set in stone, nothing confirmed. We won’t know anything until we hear back from the state.”
Greene said no formal vote was required to submit the change of scope, and that it simply required “a direction to staff.”
He said the next step is waiting to see if the state accepts their request.
“Then, at that point there would be a decision to be voted on regarding the actual direction that we end up taking with the grants,” Greene indicated. “There are still a lot of discussions to be had.”
Greene said even after the state’s approval, the board would still need to vote to put out a Request For Pricing (RFP) before the project would be given the green light.
OPPOSING ADVICE
Boyd explained that his own kids play either baseball or softball, not soccer, but said that isn’t the point.
“When you join a board like that, your goal is to look out for all the kids of Lumpkin County Parks & Rec,” he said.
As for his own board’s recommendation, Boyd said T-ball fields four and six were always “a low-traffic area that didn’t make any sense.” Instead, the Citizens Advisory Board believed that project would provide roughly enough synthetic turf to cover the infield at the cloverleaf.
But Boyd strongly believes the soccer field requires an investment as well, since it is equally popular with the public.
“If you go down there in the middle of the day, people are just hanging out or homeschooling down there if the weather is nice. It needs some work. The field gets waterlogged very easily,” he explained.
Boyd said he recognizes that baseball needs a boost, too.
“A happy medium would have been to have a conversation about turfing the clover leaf and spending this money that we earmarked for baseball fields beforehand and use it to upgrade the multipurpose field,” Boyd suggested.
He said the number of soccer players in Parks & Rec has grown immensely in recent years.
“The soccer is about seven kids lower than the baseball and softball number combined, so it’s not like there are a lot less kids that come through our soccer program.”
He said those kids are used to playing in places, like Dawsonville, that feature artificial turf.
“You can play more games, get more coaches and kids can have a better experience. When they go to high school they’re going to be playing on turf, anyway,” Boyd pointed out.
He said both White and Dawson Counties have big field renovation projects underway.
“Everybody is getting ready for the influx of kids so they can handle them, and we really aren’t … we’re not ready for it, just from a Parks & Rec standpoint,” Boyd said.