Entrepreneur Resource Rally

 

You are invited to an Entrepreneur Resource Rally on October 26, 2012 at Dalton State College from 9:00 AM- 1:00 PM.  Please see the following invitation for details.

 

 

Archway Executive Committee Seeks to Further UGA-Generated Plans on Lakeshore Park and Treadmill Lake and Considers Long-Term Storm Water Management Plan

Over the past year, UGA College of Environment and Design Masters student Rachel Johnson worked closely with the Dalton-Whitfield community to develop extensive plans for the redesign of a Lakeshore Park, a community park located near an elementary school; Threadmill Lake, a former lake with a breached dam that could serve a storm water function; and the neighboring community.  Rachel presented her work to the Dalton-Whitfield Archway Executive Committee in September, sparking energetic dialogue and a request for more information on the project from local leaders.  On Wednesday, October 10, Dalton State College professor John Lugthart and Dalton Utilities Senior Vice President of Watershed Services Mark Marlowe spoke to the Executive Committee about the feasibility of the Lakeshore Park and Threadmill Lake plans. 
 
City Manager Ty Ross reported that the Dalton Parks and Recreation Department (DP&R), who is responsible for the oversight and management of Lakeshore Park, has informally divided the plans for the park into three Phases:  Phase I focuses on revitalizing a soccer field; Phase II focuses on adding new tennis courts; and Phase III focuses on the wetlands and the lake in the south end of the park.  Phases I and II are incorporated into DP&R’s capital improvement wish list over the next five years because they can be economic drivers (bring in sporting events, etc.).  Phase III’s completion will likely depend on outside funding.  All projects will be a stretch in this current economic environment. 

Professor Lugthart, who was responsible for convening the citizen group that informed Rachel’s renderings of Lakeshore Park, noted that there is a grant opportunity with the Conasauga River Alliance for some improvements on the south end of Lakeshore Park.  He said that $10,000 to $40,000 is available in grant funding if the community can secure a 1 to 1 match with local funders.  He further noted that the grant will require at least five community partners, which he believes have already been identified through the Archway process.      

Mark Marlowe spoke to the Executive Committee about the community’s long-term storm water management plans and the importance of Threadmill Lake to those plans.  Mr. Marlowe shared that in 2008, the City of Dalton gave Dalton Utilities responsibility for managing storm water.  He noted that fifty plus years of development without adequate storm water management has resulted in significant property damage and water quality issues.  Mr. Marlowe shared that the Threadmill Lake area represents one of two areas in the community that needs the most work.  He explained that Threadmill Lake previously served as an informal storm water facility; however, several years ago the government told the home owners’ association (HOA) that owns the lake that they either had to breach the dam or pay millions of dollars to improve it.  The HOA destroyed the dam at a $50k expense and, consequently, the area does not have an adequate storm water facility.  Mr. Marlowe asked Rachel Johnson to draw some concepts to demonstrate how the restored lake could serve the dual purpose of serving as a storm water management facility and valuable community amenity.  He noted that it will take at least $2.5 million to return the lake to functionality, but the long-term consequences of not restoring the lake into a watershed will be much more costly.  

As a result of Mr. Marlowe’s presentation, the Executive Committee acknowledged that the community will ultimately have to address its storm water management issues.  Without adequate storm water management, water quality goes down which results in higher water bills for property owners.  In addition, significant property damage will continue to occur with each major storm.  Currently, there is no mechanism for paying for significant storm water management in the community.  The Executive Committee agreed to consider this issue further in the future.

You can view the final plans for Lakeshore Park and Threadmill Lake at the following links:

Lakeshore Park Final Plans

Lakeshore Park Phasing Plan

Threadmill Lake Final Plans

Threadmill Lake Trail Connections

Archway Executive Committee hosts Housing Authority and Learns About GICH

On Wednesday, October 10, the Dalton-Whitfield Archway Partnership Executive Committee hosted the Housing Authority of the City of Dalton (HACD) at its monthly meeting.  Scott Painter, Executive Director of the Dalton Housing Authority, explained that the HACD is a local community housing authority whose mission is to provide quality and affordable housing to low income families and over time bolster them into home ownership.  Mr. Painter shared that the HACD currently operates 565 units, 350 of which need to be demolished and reconstructed.  He shared that the HACD got a new board in 2010 and, with the help of Ed Goodwin and Associates and Pennrose Properties, developed a new strategic plan in 2011.  The new plan focuses on redeveloping affordable housing in Dalton with new and modern neighborhoods.  The transformation plan has two phases.  Phase one focuses on building 72 new apartments for the senior residents in the community and phase two focuses on building housing units for families in the community.  The HACD’s strategy is to begin new housing construction in 2014 and to develop and implement a home ownership program in the future.  The project will cost about $10 million.  Funds for this project will be provided through a mix of city funding, bonds, private financing and equity, project based vouchers provided by HUD, and potential tax credits.

Mark Straub, Development Manager for Pennrose Properties, describes the HACD's transformational plan.

To supplement their local efforts, the HACD is leading an effort for the community to participate in the Georgia Initiative for Community Housing (GICH) program.  GICH, a partnership formed between the Department of Community Affairs (DCA), the Georgia Municipal Association (GMA), the University of Georgia and select communities, provides participating communities with technical assistance and resources to support community housing.  Communities that are selected to participate in GICH commit to a three year training program.  In 2005 through 2008, Whitfield County participated and graduated from the GICH program.  However, since 2008, local leadership and boards have changed and HACD believes it is in Dalton-Whitfield’s best interest to go through the GICH program again.  GICH will make its initial site visit to the Dalton-Whitfield community on October 29, 2012, from 10:30 to 11:30 am at City Hall. 

CED Grad Presents to Archway Executive Committee

On Wednesday, September 5, UGA Masters of Landscape Architecture graduate Rachel Johnson presented her finalized renderings of Lakeshore Park and Threadmill Lake to the Archway Partnership Executive Committee.  Rachel’s presentation to the Executive Committee reflected almost a year’s worth of collaboration between UGA College of Environment and Design (CED) students and community partners as they worked to make these properties more accessible and enjoyable to the public.  In addition to the requested work on the projects, Rachel demonstrated how a trail system could be implemented linking several local parks and green spaces, including Brookwood Park, Threadmill Lake, Lakeshore Park, and Al Rollins Park.  Rachel also highlighted ways to connect to Brookwood Elementary, a neighboring school that can benefit from the improvements.

The Executive Committee was very interested in the projects both from a community amenity standpoint and from a storm water infrastructure perspective.  Over the next month, the committee will explore implementation logistics and feasibility with community partners. 

For press coverage of the Lakeshore Park project, view the links below:

http://archwaypartnership.uga.edu/news/whitfield-news/archway-plan-could-make-lakeshore-park-an-outdoor-classroom/

http://archwaypartnership.uga.edu/news/whitfield-news/lakeshore-park-plans-look-good/

Dalton-Whitfield Convenes Task Force to Explore Arts & Culture Opportunities

On Wednesday, August 29, Dalton-Whitfield Archway Partnership Executive Committee member Linda Blackman convened local stakeholders to discuss the possibility of forming an Arts and Culture Council Task Force.  Linda called the meeting at the behest of the Archway Partnership Executive Committee following a presentation by UGA Masters in Public Administration student Megan Miller about successful arts and culture councils.  Megan’s research revealed that most successful organizations focus on using arts and culture as an economic development tool.  Megan urged the Executive Committee to consider forming a task force to explore the need for, goals of, and the sustainability of an arts and culture council more closely.

The group listens intently about the possibility of forming an Arts and Culture Council Task Force.

Linda invited Megan Miller to the meeting to share her research with this small team.  Following Megan’s presentation, participants discussed some of the ideas in the presentation and agreed unanimously that they are dedicated to the arts and culture in this community and that arts are underutilized as an economic development tool.  The group agreed to reconvene in the next two to three weeks to further discuss how arts and culture can have a game-changer impact on the Dalton-Whitfield community with the help of the University of Georgia.  

Megan Miller presents her research.

 

Megan Miller is currently exploring the economic impacts that different art activities have on their communities which will be a very helpful resource to this task force.

Researchers from UGA Explore Parent Engagement Opportunities

In 2010 and 2011, the K-12 Issue Work Group identified disconnected families as a major hurdle to education progress in the Dalton-Whitfield community.  The group discussed the need to reconsider the role of the family in education as education evolves and family compositions change, and stated that it was “no longer appropriate for the family to simply drop their child off at the school house door.”

Members of Dalton Public Schools and Whitfield County Schools discuss the literacy initiative.

As a result of those discussions and evolving work in the field of literacy in the community, the Archway Partnership brought UGA College of Education faculty Dr. JoBeth Allen and Ph.D. student Roberta Gardner to the Dalton-Whitfield community.  Dr. Allen is a professor of language and literacy education with extensive experience and publications in family and parent engagement.  Ms. Gardner is a former early learning librarian pursing her advanced degree in the Department of Language and Literacy Education. 

Over the next several months, Dr. Allen and Ms. Gardner will work with the Dalton-Whitfield education systems to determine high impact ways to bolster student success with parent engagement in a limited-resource environment.  Dr. Allen and Ms. Gardner kicked off their work on August 27-28, when Dalton Public Schools and Whitfield County Schools provided them with tours of the existing literacy program and interviews and panels with many engaged in public outreach and parent engagement work within the school systems.  The school districts also jointly hosted the UGA researchers on a community bus tour so they could get a feel for the neighborhoods in which many students live.

Dalton Public Schools superintendent Jim Hawkins (left), UGA College of Education faculty Dr. JoBeth Allen (center), and Ph.D. student Roberta Gardner (right).

 

Dr. Allen and Ms. Gardner will continue to collaborate with education and community members to refine the scope of their work.  They plan to return to Dalton on October 23 to work with school personnel at a Leadership Academy co-hosted by the school systems. 

Following their August visit, Dr. Allen wrote a letter to the editor of the Dalton Daily Citizen that can be viewed at the following link:  http://archwaypartnership.uga.edu/news/whitfield-news/letter-congratulations-offered-for-schools%e2%80%99-literacy-instruction/.

Storm Water Project at Threadmill Lake

On Friday, July 27, University of Georgia Masters in Landscape Architecture student Rachel Johnson met with Dalton Utilities Senior Vice President of Watershed Services, Mark Marlowe to discuss plans for the revitalization of Threadmill Lake. The dam sustaining Threadmill Lake, which is located within the Brookwood subdivision, was breached in 2004. The lake and dam need to be restored as a part of the proper management of stormwater in the City of Dalton. This stormwater management project is one of two legacy projects that Dalton Utilities inherited when the utility agreed to take over stormwater management responsibilities for the City of Dalton. As a part of the transfer of responsibility for stormwater management to Dalton Utilities, the City agreed to fund the necessary capital for this project and one other legacy project. Having the benefit of a Landscape Architect for preliminary planning of the project is keeping with Dalton Utilities’ goals of making stormwater infrastructure not only functional but aesthetically pleasing and useful to the public for recreation and an enhanced quality of life.

Rachel and Mark discuss the plans for Threadmill Lake.

At the meeting, Johnson and Marlowe discussed the possibility of creating a trail around Threadmill Lake that connects it to Lakeshore Park, Brookwood Park, Brookwood Elementary, and the Al Rollins Baseball Complex.  The two also discussed the feasibility of locating boardwalks, benches, and fishing piers along the lake.

Over the next several weeks, Johnson will make revisions to the proposal.  Those revisions will then be circulated and discussed locally.  Stay tuned for more information!