The Forsyth County Commission has decided to take the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to court.
The focus of the lawsuit: the Corps' recent decision to lease Lake Lanier's Bethel Park to the YMCA of Metro Atlanta, rather than Forsyth County.
"We're going to seek a declaration that the Corps was without power to lease the property to the YMCA when the county was ready, willing and able to do the same thing and had made that intention known," County Attorney Ken Jarrard said.
The County Commission on Tuesday afternoon voted 4-0, with Chairman Charles Laughinghouse absent, to challenge the Corp's decision, announced June 5.
The YMCA and Forsyth County both want to take over Bethel Park from the Corps, which is leasing out many of its lake parks nationwide as a cost-saving measure.
The YMCA wants to turn the park into a residential camp, where 250 to 300 children would flock for eight weeks each summer. The group also hopes to offer students a two- to three-night outdoor experience throughout the school year.
The county wants to keep the park open to the public year-round and to add several amenities, including a camp for recreational vehicles.
YMCA officials contend that they were given the green-light to develop plans for the park several years ago because county officials had expressed no interest in taking on the park.
The current commissioners insist there is no record that the county was offered the park and declined it. They contend that the Corps has breached its own policy of giving the first right of refusal to the local government.
Forsyth County residents who live near the park have opposed the YMCA's plans and support the county's plans to go to court.
The lawsuit, which will have to be filed in federal court, could be ready "within a few days," Jarrard said.
Labels: army corps, Forsyth, park lease, ymca of metro atlanta
# posted by
Brian Vanderhoff @ 8:49 AM
