Bulloch County Commissioners did not reject the idea of partially funding a multi-purpose park in Downtown Statesboro when presented with the notion during their scheduled meeting Tuesday.
    Though, they didn’t pledge the county’s assistance either.
    County leaders, who listened to proponents of the open-area facility speak about its potential economic impact and need within the community, voiced a sentiment of support for the Main Street Farmers Market — which would be provided a permanent home by the park — but resisted requests to allocate $600,000 of potential Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) funds to help pay for the project.
    “I do support the Farmers Market whole-heartedly,” said Commissioner Roy Thompson. “The issue I have is: you can’t get an egg out of the nest until the chicken has gotten in there and laid it. We haven’t even voted on SPLOST yet.” 
    “I think this is a good starting point and the concept is something we want to be represented by,” said Commissioner Carolyn Ethridge. “But there is more homework to be done before deciding whatever direction we take in funding.”
    Allen Muldrew, Director of the Downtown Statesboro Development Authority (DSDA), presented the
project idea to county officials on behalf of a coalition of supporting organizations that include the DSDA, the Statesboro Convention and Visitors Bureau and Averitt Center for the Arts. The group is asking that Bulloch County match funds tentatively pledged by the City of Statesboro for a venue that would house the Farmers Market, feature an open green-space for play or community events/gatherings, and potentially host concerts or other regional attractions.
    The venue would replace an abandoned property downtown — the group is considering multiple locations.
    “The idea of a multi-purpose venue has generated a lot of support from organizations and citizens alike,” said Muldrew. “The venue would develop infill property, which will increase value to the community and value of surrounding property, thus increasing the tax base.”
    “[The project] can also provide additional tools to sell our community to tourists and potential industry and provide a home for its anchor tenant — The Main Street Farmers Market,” he said. “By the county supporting the park, it would be supporting an existing industry with over 40 farmers and vendors generating more than $250,000 a year. They would be promoting existing Bulloch County workers and keeping hard-earned dollars in our community.”
    The Board of Commissioners did not rule out the possibility of contributing funds for the venue — though its members did raise questions about project costs.
    “A question I have is: where did the $1.2 million amount originate,” said Thompson, who stated that other projects being brought before the County have clearly identified costs. “Why not just ask for $300,000 from both the city and county once monies are available? It is a heck of a lot easier to get a smaller amount of money at first, and more later.”
    According to Muldrew, the group supporting the project will attempt to address commissioners’ questions the next time it appears before the board.
    “Now that they have seen the project, asked for a little more information and were generally positive about it, we will explore a little deeper into the park,” said Muldrew. “We are going to do some number crunching to give them a little better idea about the costs. They did raise some legitimate questions,” he said. “But we do think the original agreement, for them to match the $600,000 that the city has pledged, is a valid agreement. The committee still feels that it is supporting a first-class venue and believes that this is a great opportunity for the city and the county to work equally for a venue that can serve the entire community and region.”
    “I support the concept. I think it’d be great for Bulloch County and Statesboro,” said Board Chairman Garrett Nevil.
    “We look forward to getting more information and answers about the project, and we look forward to getting more direction of where we are going and what this will take,” he said. “We recognize that is there is some good support for the project.”
   
    Jeff Harrison can be reached at 912-489-9454.