George Pep-pard, as the perpetually scheming Hannibal Smith of The A-Team, proudly proclaimed at least once per episode, “I love it when a plan comes together,” adding that catchphrase to the linguistic lore of television from days gone by.
We, too, love it when a successful plan comes together. For that to happen though, there has to be a plan, and a measure by which to judge its success.
When it comes to park and recreation programs and facilities for the county, we hope commissioners have one. From watching events of recent weeks, it’s hard to be sure.
Of course there is a master plan for use in mapping the future of the county’s parks and recreation department, one drafted after considerable study and input. But it’s getting increasingly harder to tell if that plan is The Plan.
In recent weeks there was the on-again, off-again, on-again debate over whether to build two recreation centers in the south end of the county, and how to fund those facilities if they were built. Com-missioners resolved the issue with a 3-2 vote to move forward with both the Fowler and Buice centers.
Then there were comments from some members of the commission about their districts being left out of the buying binge that has been sparked by the passage of a $100 million bond program for greenspace and parks.
That was followed by the announcement that the county has purchased the old Lanierland Music Park site, which eventually will be some sort of public park, though exactly what isn’t clear.
And of course the behind-the-scenes, “let’s don’t talk about it too much in public” consideration of whether to buy a certain golf course on Buford Dam Road, one for which the county has commissioned five appraisals in the course of a year.
Toss in the offer by owners of another golf course interested in selling to the county; the still unresolved issue of Bethel Park and whether it will be developed by the YMCA or the county government; and legitimate concerns over how the county will finance ongoing operations and upkeep at facilities purchased under the greenspace bond, and you have lots of questions for which there seem to be few answers.
None of which is to say that any of the decisions that have been made by commissioners to this point are good or bad. In fact, a couple look to be really well considered.
It all depends on how they fit into the plan.
Of course we’re sure they have a plan. And as soon as they share it in some detail with the public, we can, like Hannibal Smith, rejoice in watching it come together.
We, too, love it when a successful plan comes together. For that to happen though, there has to be a plan, and a measure by which to judge its success.
When it comes to park and recreation programs and facilities for the county, we hope commissioners have one. From watching events of recent weeks, it’s hard to be sure.
Of course there is a master plan for use in mapping the future of the county’s parks and recreation department, one drafted after considerable study and input. But it’s getting increasingly harder to tell if that plan is The Plan.
In recent weeks there was the on-again, off-again, on-again debate over whether to build two recreation centers in the south end of the county, and how to fund those facilities if they were built. Com-missioners resolved the issue with a 3-2 vote to move forward with both the Fowler and Buice centers.
Then there were comments from some members of the commission about their districts being left out of the buying binge that has been sparked by the passage of a $100 million bond program for greenspace and parks.
That was followed by the announcement that the county has purchased the old Lanierland Music Park site, which eventually will be some sort of public park, though exactly what isn’t clear.
And of course the behind-the-scenes, “let’s don’t talk about it too much in public” consideration of whether to buy a certain golf course on Buford Dam Road, one for which the county has commissioned five appraisals in the course of a year.
Toss in the offer by owners of another golf course interested in selling to the county; the still unresolved issue of Bethel Park and whether it will be developed by the YMCA or the county government; and legitimate concerns over how the county will finance ongoing operations and upkeep at facilities purchased under the greenspace bond, and you have lots of questions for which there seem to be few answers.
None of which is to say that any of the decisions that have been made by commissioners to this point are good or bad. In fact, a couple look to be really well considered.
It all depends on how they fit into the plan.
Of course we’re sure they have a plan. And as soon as they share it in some detail with the public, we can, like Hannibal Smith, rejoice in watching it come together.