Sunday, February 2, 2025–1:45 p.m.
-John Bailey, Rome News-Tribune-
This story is possible because of a news-sharing agreement with the Rome News-Tribune. More information can be found at northwestgeorgianews.com
Less than a year after the issue seemed to be put to rest, Rome city commissioners are again showing interest in renewing talks to split with the county, to one degree or another, on parks and recreation services.
During discussions in a City Commission retreat, commissioners tossed out ideas concerning how they would like to see the city take a stronger role in providing those kind of services.
A 10-year parks and recreation master plan has been in the works for several years. Work on that plan was put on pause in 2022 after city commissioners expressed a desire to split the department.
Earlier this year, Rome Mayor Craig McDaniel and Floyd County Commission Chair Allison Watters indicated they felt the time is right to finish the plan, and move ahead as a group.
Earlier in 2024, Rome and Floyd County Parks and Rec Director Todd Wofford indicated that the plan was about 80% complete. That document has yet to be finalized.
This week members of the commission indicated during a city retreat they feel there’s a need for change.
“If we’re going to do something different, it’s going to need to be very well thought out,” McDaniel said to other commissioners. “Every item you want to do you’ve got to put a number beside it and what the capitol investment is and put a dollar (value) beside it and what it’s going to take to operate it every day.”
He cited other items including safety, security and maintenance as well.
“That’s the challenge the Floyd County government has right now with parks and rec,” McDaniel said.
They agreed to come back to the discussion, with additional plans and financial information, at an undetermined point to have a full slate of items to start with.
Rome and Floyd County both share some of the costs associated with running the department.
The city currently provides a number of facilities alongside a capital investment varying from $50,000 to $100,000 per year to pay for maintenance on those facilities.
For example, the city owns the Fielder Center, Eagle Park, Tolbert Park, Banty Jones Park and Ridge Ferry Park — but the county pays to staff them.
To put the relationship on simple terms, the city maintains the parks and buildings and the county pays the bills and personnel costs. The county infuses over $2 million each year on average each year to fund the department.
None of the ideas moved further than the discussion phase in the talks, and would need to go through more governmental hurdles before they become reality.
For their part, the county has regularly indicated a strong desire to continue the partnership with the city.
