Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack announces $12.5 million in Radium Springs funding during Albany visit
Apr. 21—ALBANY — Funding of a $12.5 million package announced on Thursday during a stop in Albany by U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack will provide a major boost to Radium Springs, including an amphitheater, a scenic overlook and $4.5 million for trail construction.
The funding is part of the $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, also called the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill, which gained final approval in Congress in November 2021. The announcement was made during a news conference at Radium Springs, the largest spring feeding the Flint River.
In addition to money to construct the concrete trail from Radium Springs to the Albany State University Campus, the funding includes $3 million for the amphitheater, $2 million for improvements at Radium Gardens for pavilion and canoe launch area repairs, $500,000 to replace portable toilets with permanent restrooms at the former golf course, and $150,000 each for an open air shelter at the trailhead and additional golf course area improvements.
"This is the culmination of an arc that has now come home to southwest Georgia," said U.S. Rep. Sanford Bishop, D-Albany, who traveled with Vilsack and Mitch Landrieu, senior advisor in charge of implementation of the Investment Infrastructure and Jobs Act. "This is a once-in-a-generation investment."
In all, five watersheds in Bishop's 2nd Congressional District will receive funding totaling $69 million.
In addition to the Radium Springs improvement funds, the balance of $850,000 will go toward conservation projects, including programs to help maintain spring flow during times of drought.
The emphasis on rural areas is part of the president's commitment in investing in rural America. The infrastructure bill also includes spending to help clean the air and water and high-speed internet service in rural parts of the country.
"I was very struck (by) the setting of this press conference," Vilsack said. "I have never been at a press conference in a setting as beautiful as this. I was struck by the trees; they are majestic."
In nature, trees develop an interconnected root system that allows them to divert resources to a neighbor that is ailing, he added.
"That's what it's about," Vilsack said. "It's about community. We are in Georgia today because the chairman had the vision of strengthening communities. We're here today because he has impressed upon me the importance of communities."
In addition to the funding, Vilsack discussed a rural partnership network for the area that will link local community members with federal personnel and resources. Georgia is one of five pilot states in the program; the others are Arizona, Kentucky, Mississippi and New Mexico.
The Radium Springs area has been hammered by a series of natural disasters, including flooding in 1994 and 1998 and a 2017 tornado, Dougherty County Chairman Chris Cohllas said during an interview following the news conference. The investment in the area will help shore up the value of property for owners who were impacted by those events.
"This is huge," he said. "We've been working very, very hard with Congressman Bishop's office as well as USDA (U.S. Department of Agriculture). It is the kind of continued effort this community has got to continue to expand upon."
During the news conference, several speakers recounted that the springs, while privately owned, did not allow participation by all members of the community. That has changed, and the amphitheater will be an asset that will bring the community together, Cohilas said.
"That's about it being a place for movies and concerts, like Piedmont Park in Atlanta, being available to all," he said.
Some of the conservation efforts will include exploring the feasibility of tapping into deeper aquifers than the Floridan for area industries and farmers. The Floridan is the largest aquifer and interacts heavily with the Flint River during its run through southwest Georgia.
"We're trying to do something that's pretty common in Georgia — to adopt and protect an entire spring system," said Woody Hicks, a hydrologist who worked as a researcher at the Joseph W. Jones Ecological Research Center in Baker County until his retirement. "That's the first one in Georgia."
