(The Center Square) — Georgia is doling out greater than $225 million in federal taxpayer cash to pay for quite a lot of community upgrades, from obtainable walkways in Atlanta’s Woodruff Park to restoring a tennis and pickleball court docket in Athens-Clarke County.
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp introduced the grants for 142 certified projects, which can move to non-profits and native governments to take care of or reinforce leisure amenities in Qualified Census Tracts.
“With our partners on both the local and state levels, we’ve prioritized helping Georgia’s communities further recover from the pandemic with a bottom-up approach,” Kemp, a Republican, mentioned in a commentary. “Today, we’re investing these funds to see that those most heavily impacted have even more resources at their disposal, and I want to thank our partners for helping us make that possible.”
The state is pulling investment for the grants, which vary in worth from $8,136.70 to $2.2 million, from the American Rescue Plan Act’s Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds program. Recipients can use the grants for restore or upkeep because of the greater use of public amenities right through the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Greene County Recreation Department gained the smallest grant — an $8,136.70 allocation to switch a greater than 20-year-old scoreboard on one in every of its fields. Organizers say the challenge, one in every of 8 division projects to obtain investment below the newest tranche of federal bucks, will cut back disputes and lawsuits from consumers taking part in and supporting sports activities techniques.
Fifty projects — together with the ones in Atlanta, Carrollton, Gainesville, Metter and Vidalia — gained grants of $2.2 million. In Almo, town plans to upgrade the amenities in a neighborhood park, whilst officers in Walker County plan to make use of their grant to become an unused grassy space and a dilapidated automobile parking space right into a community collecting area to advertise bodily task.
“These investments will have a profound impact on creating opportunities for physical activity, economic growth and enhanced accessibility,” state Rep. Mike Cameron, R-Rossville, mentioned in a commentary in regards to the greater than $4.8 million headed to quite a lot of jurisdictions in Walker County.
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