State moves to buy land for middle Georgia park

ATLANTA - The state has agreed to buy more than 850 acres in middle Georgia for to build a new park. <br> <br> The State Properties Commission voted unanimously Tuesday to buy 857 acres near the Georgia National Fairgrounds and Agricenter in Houston County. <br> <br> The purchase price was $2.4 million. <br> <br> Representative Larry Walker of Perry pushed funding through the legislature. He argued last year that middle Georgia&#39;s growing population warranted a new state park. He was able to secure funds in the House-passed budget for a 1,500 acre development with a 100-acre lake. <br> <br> Senators at first argued water studies were needed to see if the lake could be built without tapping groundwater supplies and further aggravating the state&#39;s drought. <br> <br> The two chambers compromised, committing $3.8 million to buy land for the park and to conduct a study.