Governor Brian Kemp announced on Thursday, May 18th that Butts County has been awarded two INODIC grants (Improving Neighborhood Outcomes in Disproportionately Impacted Communities) through the Georgia Office of Planning and Budget, the use of which would allow for investments in recreation facilities and healthy food access to benefit citizens.

The County team worked together last fall to apply for grants that would make investments in projects designed to improve recreational access, promote healthy food access for senior citizens and enhance safety through improved lighting and access within our recreational park. Projects outlined included an expansion to or addition of a wing to the Butts County Senior Citizens Center, which serves thousands of meals per year to seniors and the installation of advanced, low energy LED field lighting throughout Daughtry Park to expand outdoor recreational programs beyond daylight hours, opening up greater access to the campus, especially during winter months when days are much shorter.

The first project will greatly improve the Taylor Senior Center, which has reached maximum capacity and has been faced with having to turn people away from programs due to space restrictions. The center serves as a critical resource for Butts County’s older adults, especially during the recent pandemic. It offers healthy meals, recreational and educational classes, serving as a place for older adults to stay socially engaged and remain connected to the community. This grant would be used to construct additional multi-purpose space, as well as a much larger commercial kitchen, additional restroom facilities, expansion of the arts & crafts room, game room and a corridor to connect the new multipurpose room to the existing Butts County Senior Center. It is anticipated that after this project is completed, Butts County would be able to serve more senior citizens healthy meals and include more participants in recreational and educational classes, ultimately improving the overall health and wellbeing of the senior citizens of Butts County.

The second project will focus on Daughtry Park, using awarded grant funds to install replacement field lighting throughout the park. Most of the current lighting equipment is more than 25 years old and many of the existing lights are inoperable and can no longer be serviced due to parts no longer being available. The project would see the replacement of the existing light system with new, modern, and efficient LED lighting for the soccer complex, football/track field, baseball, softball and tee ball fields. It is anticipated that after this project is completed, Butts County will be able to add more programs, increase usage of the park beyond daylight hours and create a greater sense of safety and security for park users.

For each of these projects, the State has awarded the requested grant amounts of $2.2 million dollars, for a total $4.4 million dollar grant investment in services that provide enhanced quality of life services to Butts County citizens. We appreciate the efforts of our County Staff, Consultants, and our County Commissioners, as well as the unfailing support of current State Representative Clint Crowe, former State Representative Susan Holmes, Lieutenant Governor Burt Jones and Governor Brian Kemp for providing these opportunities for our Citizens. We are also grateful for the support we received from Lisa Durden of the Chamber of Commerce, the Three Rivers Area Agency on Aging, the Butts County Lions Club, Frankie Willis and the Butts County Historical Society and of course our Senior Center participants, who were all advocates for this grant.