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County manager urges use of Hotel/Motel and SPLOST funds for welcome center, fishing pier and campsites
Summary
At a July 28 work session, County Manager Thomas Weaver outlined tourism-focused projects funded by Hotel/Motel and SPLOST revenue: converting a City Hall room into a welcome center, repairing signage, a fishing pier and utility-ready campsites at Riverbend Park; Weaver cited a Hotel/Motel balance of $813,251 and reported over $500,000 collected in 2025 SPLOST.
County Manager Thomas Weaver told the commission at its July 28 work session that tourism-designated Hotel/Motel revenues and SPLOST collections could fund multiple small projects intended to increase visitation to Riverbend Park and downtown Cusseta.
Weaver proposed converting an unused room in City Hall into a welcome center that the Chamber of Commerce or other groups could use, repairing another room that is in disrepair, improving entrance signage around the county, constructing a fishing pier adjacent to the existing boat dock at Riverbend Park, and installing small campsites with power and septic hookups to make the park more attractive to overnight visitors.
Weaver said the county has a Hotel/Motel balance of $813,251 and that the county has collected more than $500,000 in SPLOST revenue so far in 2025. "If we have power and water, people will come," Weaver said as he urged the commission to approve scoping and soliciting quotes for the work. He said staff would return with price estimates for renovation, pier construction and campsite utilities.
Council response and next steps: Chairman Charles Coffey suggested contacting past contributors to Riverbend planning and checking existing packets; the commission agreed to place these items on the regular meeting agenda for formal consideration. Weaver also noted a site visit for an SEID trail-grant representative is scheduled, and that some tourism projects must be paid from specific funding sources (Hotel/Motel or SPLOST). The commission asked staff to obtain quotes and bring cost estimates back for a future vote.
Why this matters: The proposals would use restricted tourism and SPLOST revenues to invest in amenities intended to draw visitors and generate economic activity; estimates and procurement plans were not completed at the work session and will be required before spending.
