Lake Lanier to get first state park

Some wonder why the state is building more parks as it cuts operating expenses at existing facilities.

“I think that is something that should be put on hold until the state is in better financial shape,” said Debbie Dooley, the state grassroots coordinator for Freedomworks, which campaigns for smaller government and lower taxes.

Lake Lanier is a popular recreation spot for metro Atlanta residents. Each year more than 7.5 million people visit the lake.

The Army Corps of Engineers oversees the lake and operates 46 recreational facilities, including popular boat docks and camping and picnic sites.

Many of those facilities are on the lake’s southern end, closer to Atlanta. Don Carter State Park, off North Browning Bridge Road in Gainesville, will serve the lake’s northeastern end.

“Some of these parks get very crowded,” said Jackie Joseph, president of the Lake Lanier Association, which represents homeowners and others who want to preserve the lake. “(The park) just gives an alternative.”

DNR bought most of the property that will become Don Carter State Park about 15 years ago. Last year Gov. Sonny Perdue included $14 million to design and build the park in a $1.2 billion bond package approved by the General Assembly.

The package also included money to build schools, libraries, roads and other facilities. Perdue billed it as an economic stimulus that would create 20,000 construction jobs.

But the state has cut DNR funding by more than a third since fiscal 2008. That’s meant shorter hours and smaller staffs at some parks.

“It would be irresponsible for them to proceed (with the new park) unless the funding was there to maintain the park,” Dooley said.

DNR’s Hatcher said it will cost an estimated $500,000 to operate Don Carter State Park.

“If the economy improves and the funding is there, we’re going to open it with minimal staff,” she said.

Hatcher said income from about 20 cottages should eventually help the park make a small profit. She said two similar lake-based parks with cottages – Richard B. Russell and Tugaloo – make profits of $60,000 and $23,000 a year, respectively.

In addition to the new Lake Lanier park, DNR will open the $7 million Chattahoochee Bend State Park in Coweta County next year. Hatcher said she can think of only two other state parks -- Sprewell Bluff and Tallulah Gorge -- that have opened in the last 15 years, though the agency has built new facilities at existing parks.

The state will select a contractor for Don Carter State Park in November, and construction should begin early next year.

Last month DNR held a ceremonial groundbreaking to honor Carter, who spent 29 years on the board that oversees the department. During his tenure the state acquired more than 290,000 acres for state parks, historic sites, wildlife management and similar purposes.

“It’s sort of a shock, to tell you the truth,” Carter said of having the park named for him.

The park will feature camping, cottages with lake views, a boat dock, boat ramps, a swimming beach, hiking and horse trails and picnic areas.

“I wanted the park to be for the blue-collar worker,” said Carter, who owns a Gainesville real estate firm. “No golf courses, nothing like that.”

Jim and Barbara Conard of Stone Mountain welcomed news of the new park. They visit Lake Lanier five to six times a year and spent Friday at Van Pugh Park in Flowery Branch.

Jim Conard called the lake “one of the greatest assets in the Southeast.” But it gets pretty crowded at times.

“On the weekends it’s a beehive,” Barbara Conard said.