Hart County Agrees to Intergovernmental Agreement With Hartwell Regarding Park Annexation

Hart County has agreed to a plan by the City of Hartwell to annex the new Hartwell Lakeside Park.

The Hart County Board of Commissioners voted Tuesday to pass an intergovernmental agreement with the City of Hartwell on condition the City agrees not to use the 60/40 rule.

During discussions, Commission Chair Joey Dorsey again noted the County’s concern that future Hartwell City Governments might use the 60/40 rule and override the concerns of county citizens.

County Attorney Walter Gordon explained to the Board there are three methods of annexation that a municipality or local government can use.

The 60/40 method allows a local government to annex county property to the city provided 60% of the residents approve.

Some residents living around the park approached the Hart County Board of Commissioners earlier to express their concerns that their neighborhoods would be annexed into the city over their objections.

Dorsey noted Tuesday that now other neighborhoods such as those around the Hartwell Marina are worried they might be annexed without their permission.

However, City Mayor Brandon Johnson has said earlier the City has no plans to annex any other areas around the park.

“Just the park. And that will allow police protection, fire protection. It will allow for all of our ordinances and policies to govern that piece of property. That will also allow us to control the product that’s there, which we think is really good for the community,” Johnson said.

Hartwell is leasing the park land from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and has, in turn, leased it to a developer who is turning it into a full-out family vacation destination which will eventually include a hotel, restaurant, and entertainment venue.

“The primary phase now is getting it cleaned up and bring the quality up on the camping portion of it. There are buildings that need work, there are ground upgrades that need to be done, there’s electric and plumbing. There are a lot of general upgrades that need to be done. He just started April 1. So, we’re probably talking three to six months to get that level of quality up,” he explained.

Johnson said right now there are people camping at the park as well as workers who have begun renovations to the camping area.

Dorsey said Tuesday night the Corps of Engineers needed the County’s decision on whether they will support the annexation by this Friday.

After more discussion, Dorsey made the motion to agree to the annexation provided the City not attempt to annex any surrounding neighborhoods.

The intergovernmental agreement will be in force through 2045.