Hall officials break ground for Cherokee Bluffs Park

FLOWERY BRANCH - Hall County officials turned over soil in a ground breaking ceremony this morning at Cherokee Bluffs Park in the south end of the county.<br /> <br /> The park will feature a dog park, archery venue, walking and biking trails and other amenities . Those amenities have been split into three phases, the first of which will be completed in April.<br /> <br /> Commissioner Craig Lutz said the park was held up several times due to funding<br /> <br /> "The original funding of the park was going to be on SPLOST V, but when Flowery Branch High School was built, at the time, the commission felt like it was important to make sure we had ball fields and that kind of thing, so money was diverted away from the park for more important things," said Lutz. <br /> <br /> "We then put it in SPLOST VI, but as you know, SPLOST VI came in way under budget ... so we haven't been able to get this revenue put together. So we really had to cobble the revenue from a lot of different places, one of them being impact fees, some of it being SPLOST, maybe even a touch of it out of the general fund. <br /> <br /> "But it really took us identifying the actual funding before we could get the project rolling again," said Lutz.<br /> <br /> Lutz said crews had been working on the park for about a year. He mentioned one Eagle Scout project had been completed , a trail with benches near a pond, and several others were lined up, including the building of a bridge and a pavilion .<br /> <br /> Companies in the area were also helping out. Lutz said Vulcan Materials is allowing access to a 60 acre tract of land for biking and walking trails and Kubota Manufacturing of America Corporation will maintain the lawns by testing their mowers at the park. <br /> <br /> About 50 people attended the event, ranging from Flowery Branch Mayor Mike Miller and members of the Greater Hall Chamber of Commerce to citizens who live nearby.<br /> <br /> Community member Mindy Wade said she was excited to finally have access to the park.<br /> <br /> "I'm glad that the park is here because I've been having to travel to Gwinnett County to Little Mulberry Park," Wade said. "I'm happy to have a nice park here in our own area."<br />