ELLIJAY, Ga. – Gilmer County’s Parks and Recreation Department is continuing along a path following a theme of restoration. The department has been undergoing a project restoring the old tennis courts into something usable for citizens, it was approved to restore its Advisory Board in a new capacity last month, and this month’s agendas sees the board once again looking at the department to help it grow.

Not only is the Board of Commissioners (BOC) returning again to the discussion of re-establishing the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board with nominations for appointments to that board, but it also looking to address an agenda item for a request to add an additional employee to the department.

During the June 2022 meeting, BOC Chairman Charlie Paris suggested the board be made up of nine people with each commissioner nominating three members to the board in order to cover the many different branches of citizens who use the park differently. With this, nine new names will be put forward this month as the commissioners build the advisory board they previously approved. Then the board will begin action on its own, adopting its bylaws and similar motions before it takes on the official role to advising the BOC.

The BOC has already established that the board will have far less authority than it previously held and will look to bring in people from a wider variety of park users. In addition, details will come in the work session on the reasoning for an additional part time employee.

Parks and Rec are not the only recreational areas that the county is dealing with this month as other agenda items include suspension of a River Outfitter’s license. The meetings will be held with the work session this Wednesday, July 13, 2022, at 9:00 a.m. and the regular meeting on Thursday, July 14, 2022, at 6:00 p.m.