HALL COUNTY, Ga. — Georgia U.S. Reps. Andrew Clyde and Rich McCormick introduced new legislation in Congress to change how fees are used for maintenance projects.
The Lanier Parks Local Access Act would let local partners who manage recreation sites at various U.S. Army Corps of Engineers sites use fees collected from other locations to fund projects.
Current federal law requires fees collected at certain sites stay in use only at those locations, which the congressmen said limits how they can be used, and what they can do to serve the various parts of Lake Lanier.
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Lake Lanier was built by USACE in the 1950s and has 76 recreation areas.
Of those, 37 are Corps-operated parks and campgrounds, 10 marinas and the Lake Lanier Islands.
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The other sites at Lake Lanier are leased to local governments and other organizations.
In a statement on the legislation he and McCormick introduced, Rep. Clyde said expanding how the fees can be used, and where, would be a simple solution to keep Lake Lanier’s parks open, safe and well-maintained.
“I’ve long fought to protect Lake Lanier, including against misguided efforts to rename the lake as well as recent temporary closures of parks and boat ramps,” Clyde said. “Expanding local governments’ authority over user fees provides a strong incentive for cities and counties to lease recreational sites from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, therefore ensuring more areas remain open.”
The release from the congressmen said that current law allows local governments to keep user fees they collect, but only if the funds are used at the park they were collected.
As a result, the congressmen’s announcement says it creates problems for day use parks that don’t charge fees, so local governments are less likely to manage the sites due to lack of funding for upkeep.
The legislative proposal would change this by giving local partners to use the fees for any park or facility in the project site, instead, giving them more flexibility for management.
“I’m proud to join Rep. Clyde in supporting the Lanier Parks Local Access Act, a commonsense piece of legislation that empowers local governments with the flexibility they need to effectively manage and maintain public recreation sites,” McCormick said. “This bill ensures that user fees work smarter, not harder, to keep our parks accessible, safe, and clean.”
The bill will impact all local government managing recreation sites or facility at USACE projects, not just Lake Lanier, according to the announcement.
However, the legislation is named for Lake Lanier because the location is “the most-visited U.S. Army Corps of Engineers project” in the United States.
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