Last week's reintroduction of legislation that could put Athens in control of Strouds Run State Park had Athens City Council quarreling at a special meeting yesterday.
Three council members voiced concerns about the cost of maintaining the park, which Mayor Ric Abel estimated at about $99,000 for the first year of operation.
Councilwoman Bojinka Bishop, D- 2nd Ward, said council is focusing too much on how cheaply it can run the park and what sacrifices in maintenance would need to be made to increase the usefulness of the park for the public.
Council members Nancy Bain, D- 3rd Ward, and Paul Wiehl, D-1st Ward, expressed worries about the operational costs and how the city will keep clean and safe a park that has appeared to be dilapidating.
I have to congratulate Carol for putting lipstick on this pig
said, referring to an earlier presentation about the transfer by the legislation's sponsor, Councilwoman Carol Patterson, D- at large.
Doug Franklin, a member of the Strouds Run Task Force that did preliminary research on the transfer's possible implications, encouraged council to consider long-term environmental and educational benefits of protecting such a local gem. Franklin said the park has the potential to generate enough revenue to support itself eventually through targeted user fees for the gun range and educational programs.
Franklin said he thinks state would continue to neglect Strouds because it does not have lodges, cabins or golf courses to bring in revenue.
City Council likely will vote next week on whether or not to transfer the park.
Council also had a public hearing for the city's Comprehensive Plan, which could pass within two months. Muriel Grim, representing a committee of neighborhood associations, urged council to adopt the plan as soon as possible and wait until after doing so to change potential wording and content discrepancies between the current plan and the previous version. 17
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Dianne Selden
