Milton Hoping To Buy Parkland

By DOUG NURSE / The Atlanta Journal-Constitution / Published on: 08/26/07

Travis Allen grew up using Providence Park in Milton, hiking the wooded trails, camping, fishing the lake, and watching people climb the quarry walls.

Then, in 2004, Fulton County closed the 40-acre park after discovering many of the 200 55-gallon drums stashed in the park were leaking. Since then, the county has cleaned up much of the pollution by hauling off 8,331 tons of dirt from 37 acres. Now, city and county officials are awaiting an assessment by the state Environmental Protection Division.

Anticipating a positive report, Milton city officials have begun trying to work out a way to buy the cleaned-up portion of the park from Fulton County. If all goes well, the city could take over and open a majority of the green space by the end of the year.

"That's great," Allen said. "There really is a need. I think it's been missed. It was used a lot before, but attendance will exceed that now. In an area that's park-poor, everyone will flood down there. I'll probably go once a week."

Fulton County recreation officials estimated the park used to draw about 20,000 visitors a year. People would canoe, rock climb, hike and mountain bike the trails, or use the pavilion or community center.

At least some of the contamination is believed to have come from county road building that occurred before the site became a park in 1972. After closing the facilities, scientists found that soil near the drums contained about four times the amount of lead allowed near a home and as much as 10 times the limit for some kinds of chromium, an EPD spokesman said in 2004.
The city has three parks, but only one is open, and it is used for baseball. Besides Providence, there's a 200-acre undeveloped park.

When voters approved incorporating northwest Fulton County into the new city of Milton, many of them felt a city of their own would help rectify a lack of services — including a paucity of parks. Opening Providence Park would be a step toward delivering on that promise, said city Councilwoman Tina D'Aversa.

"We have baseball fields, but that's all," D'Aversa said. "This will be so exciting for everyone. This will broaden recreational choices for people."

Typically, new cities — such as Sandy Springs, Johns Creek and Milton — buy Fulton County facilities within their boundaries in their entirety, but the city has asked the county to subdivide Providence Park. The city would buy the cleaned-up part.

Milton is planning to hire an environmental engineer to determine which areas are safe.
"The city and the county are taking every precaution to make sure everything we do has a clean bill of health," D'Aversa said.