Neighbors concerned about Tallassee Forest plans
An Athens-Clarke County government proposal to turn an undeveloped 310-acre tract in the western end of the county into a public park accentuating the area’s ecological diversity and other natural attributes raised concerns among residents of the two subdivisions immediately adjacent to either side of the land.
Neighbors of the proposed Tallassee Forest park off Tallassee Road are worried the plan to leave the area largely undeveloped, but with water and restroom facilities available, and plenty of acreage where people might be able to camp undetected, could turn the park into a haven for homeless people and other vagrants — “urban outdoorsmen” was a term used by one resident — who might in turn wander into their neighborhoods.
Another nearby resident, Joan Rhoden, said including restroom facilities and water fountains in plans for Tallassee Forest will almost certainly make it attractive to the homeless. With those two things available, she said, “you’ve got living spaces.”
Subdivision residents point to Ben Burton Park, a county-operated park a few miles away on Mitchell Bridge Road, as an example of their concerns. Ben Burton Park, where the parking area and other parts of the facility are out of public view, routinely has been a site for illicit sexual activity and other crime.
Residents of the area near the proposed Tallassee Forest were among the dozens of people who attended a public input session Tuesday night in downtown Athens where representatives of the county’s Leisure Services Department presented a draft master plan for the park.
Broadly, that plans calls for the front of the tract, immediately off Tallassee Road near Burney-Harris-Lyons Middle School, to be the most heavily developed part of the acreage. That area will include vehicle parking, restroom facilities, a picnic pavilion, a children’s play area and wide walking trails.
The interior of the tract, on the other hand, will remain largely undeveloped, featuring only a network of interlocking trails with overlook areas where visitors can learn about the various ecological features of the park.
At Tuesday’s public input session, Leisure Services staff members acknowledged neighbors’ concerns about security, and pointed out one way to reduce the possibility that the facility is used by vagrants is, just as the plan proposes, to concentrate the public presence in the park. Having parking and other intensive activities at the front of the park will ensure members of the public can pay attention to who is using the facility, Leisure Services personnel indicated Tuesday.
Additionally, a Leisure Services survey on planning for Tallassee Forest asks respondents to indicate whether they would favor staffing the park with “rangers” who would be “dedicated to ensuring the safety of the visitors and resources in woodland parks, greenways, and water trails.” That survey, along with the proposed master plan for Tallassee Forest, is available online at http://bit.ly/2gJqK9o.
At Tuesday’s meeting, the county’s survey was counterbalanced by a petition being circulated by nearby residents opposed to the Tallassee Forest plan. The petition contends there will be “no way to adequately monitor the activities of those who will frequent this park.”
The petition goes on to assert the park will bring additional traffic to the area, could adversely affect residential property values, and could also disturb the ecology of the now-undeveloped tract, possibly forcing animals now living there into the surrounding neighborhoods.
The draft master plan now being circulated marks the second time within the last couple of years that the county has advanced a proposal for the tract. The land was acquired by the county a few years ago with $525,000 in local sales tax revenue and a grant from the Chattanooga-based Riverview Foundation.
Athens-Clarke County Commissioner Jerry NeSmith, whose district includes Tallassee Forest, was at Tuesday’s public input meeting, and told people attending the session that the current proposal “is much more sensitive” than the previous plan in recognizing the ecological importance of the area.
In addition to hosting dozens of species of butterflies, the tract also hosts 65 bird species, 43 species of trees, vines and shrubs, 137 different kinds of spring wildflowers and plants and 13 species of aquatic invertebrate creatures.
On Wednesday, NeSmith said that even with the first proposal for developing the park, neighbors were concerned about security issues, and shared those concerns with him. Area residents plan to do the same in connection with the latest plan, and are working to schedule a January neighborhood meeting with NeSmith.
Regarding residents’ worries about people bringing unwelcome activity into the proposed park, NeSmith said, “I share those concerns. I think they are real.” But, he countered, the mere fact that the area will be open to the public, meaning there will be numerous eyes on activities in Tallassee Forest, offer some assurance that problematic behavior and issues can be addressed.
NeSmith also pointed out that much of the front of the park will be visible from Tallassee Road, meaning law enforcement officers patrolling the area will be able to see what is happening in the facility.
But, NeSmith acknowledged, “we do have to make it a good environment.”
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