Bruce Griggs, director of Operation Correct Start and owner of Blues Alley Lounge, has sent letters to Georgia Attorney General Thurbert Baker and the state ethics commission requesting that they investigate what he called “illegal connections” between two Troup County commissioners and a local nonprofit agency.

Griggs also urged state officials to investigate “misappropriation” of special-purpose local-option funds allocated to the William J. Griggs Recreation Center.

Griggs said he had “no direct proof” but requested an investigation into “certain commissioners (who) may have illegal connections or conflicts of interest, with local nonprofit agencies and organizations operating in Troup County.”

County officials said Griggs’ allegations were groundless.

In January, Griggs requested funds - about $300,000 - from the County Commission for his violence-prevention program. He said his organization wants to mentor 150 children in the schools, Juvenile Court and housing projects in the county.

At that meeting, Griggs became angry when Commissioner Richard English suggested he enter into a partnership with NFL football player and LaGrange native Walt Harris, who formed the nonprofit Walt’s World and opened the Walt Harris Community Resource Center in May to provide education and job training for adults.

Griggs refers to the meeting in his letter.

“During that meeting, instead of trying to learn more about what we do or how our program could enhance our community, Commission Chairman Ricky Wolfe, along with Commissioner Richard English referred us to another agency less than a year old, on which one of them sits on the board of directors. Moreover, other local officials including the assistant city manager and head of Troup County Parks and Recreation also sit on the board of this agency.”

English said his intent was not to recommend that Griggs work with Harris’ organization.

“Working with youth and parents, if they all work together you can accomplish more. That’s the way I look at it. If all the organizations trying to help the youth and the parents come together, they’ll get more done,” English said today.

Wolfe and English are not and have never been on the board of Walt’s World, said Renee Adams, executive director of Walt’s World. Assistant City Manager Alton West also has never sat on the board. Tod Tentler, director of Troup County Parks and Recreation is a member of the Walt’s World board of directors.

“Yes, we have a relationship with the county commissioners,” Adams said. “Walt sat down with them and discussed how he could work in this community. We didn’t want to duplicate services.”

Walt’s World has received no funds from the county, although it did receive a $5,000 grant from the city of LaGrange for the computer lab, she said.

Griggs made it clear in his letter that he appreciates the resource center and Walt Harris. However, Griggs said his mission - preventing violence - is different from Harris’ goal of training adults.

“I am grossly offended at the audacity of Mr. Wolfe, serving as a board member of another agency, to even mention the name of the other agency in response to my request for funding,” Griggs wrote.

Griggs has not made any formal allegations to the County Commission, said Ricky Wolfe.

“Any specific allegation he has for us we will respond to,” he said today.

Griggs also requested an investigation into SPLOST spending to renovate the Griggs Center, named in honor of his father.

“Recently, the William J. Griggs Recreation Center, received more than $1,000,000 in SPLOST funds, money supposedly allocated for the purpose of updating the center. But it is now believed that the original plans to overhaul the William J. Griggs Recreation Center was somehow changed and the funds believed to have been misappropriated, because the visible improvements that can be seen at the Griggs Recreation Center are minimal at best,” Griggs wrote.

Troup County spent $1.4 million at the Griggs Center to build a new gym, expand a breakroom, put in new carpeting and paint, refurbish the wood floor in the old gym, add air conditioning to the old gym, refurbish a weight room and locker rooms. The pool area was redone, the tennis courts were refurbished and the county added a parking lot and a $40,000 playground, said Tentler.

“There is one bathroom in the hallway where we changed the fixtures, but the tiles were not repaired because they don’t make those materials anymore,” Tentler said.

Griggs also complained there is no air conditioning in the new gym at the center.

“That’s true,” Tentler said. “(Air conditioning) was not in the original contract. It has a very good ventilation system that works for most of the season, but when it’s real hot in the summer, it is warm in there. We are looking at air conditioning it this summer.

“Mr. Griggs has not asked me to sit down and show him the invoices. Everything has been audited and we have invoices for everything. I’d be happy to sit down with him or anybody else,” he said.

Sherri Brown can be reached at sbrown @lagrangenews .com or at (706) 884-7311, Ext. 240.