Applications for volunteers to serve on the Brookhaven Park Bond Citizen Oversight Board are now being accepted. The deadline to apply is Dec. 31.
There will be five appointments to the board: three with relevant capital program management experience and two resident appointments representing north and south of Peachtree Road. The initial term will be for two years.
The application can be found on the city’s website by clicking here.
Brookhaven voters approved a $40 million parks bond on Nov. 6. Money from the parks bond will fund several parks master plan projects: Ashford Park, $1.94 million; Blackburn Park, $1.3 million; Briarwood Park, $7 million; Brookhaven Park, $6 million; Lynwood Park, $11 million; Murphey Candler Park, $8.98 million; and system-wide funding for security, maintenance and invasive plant removal, among other things, $3.47 million.
Three members of a funding task force that resulted in the $40 million parks bond ended up publicly opposing the bond, saying it was too much money and some projects to receive funding were not approved as part of the public master plan process. City officials said all projects came from community input. The bond was approved with 60 percent of the vote.
Questions were also raised by some of the opponents about community oversight of the parks bond spending, resulting in city officials agreeing to set up the oversight board.
City officials said the elimination of the homestead option sales tax this year meant there was no money in the city’s budget to fund parks projects. Other property tax changes would not result in an overall property tax increase to homeowners to pay for the parks bond, according to the city.
The parks bond will be paid off over 30 years. City officials expect the bond funding to complete the parks projects in three to five years.