Threading through the city

LaGRANGE – The city council voted to approve a lease with the Callaway Foundation on Tuesday on a property on Haralson Street near the model mile of the Thread Trail.

The land is to be used exclusively for park space, and the 20-year lease with the Callaway foundation will be available for automatic renewal. The city will not be charged for use of the land.

“The city enters into these agreements with the foundation a lot where they don’t charge any rent, and we just agree to maintain – like the parking lots and so forth,” said Mayor Jim Thornton during council’s regular work session.

Projects like the parking lot beside the end of the promenade are under similar lease agreements, and this specific lease would put the city in charge of maintaining the entirety of the model mile of the Thread Trail, which is currently under construction.

“The first segment is 1.2 miles, and it is from West Haralson up to the back of the baseball fields (at Granger Park) and then around the park – so there is a 3/10 of a mile spur from West Haralson to the back of the ballfields – and then there will be a .9 mile stretch,” said City Planner Leigh Threadgill. “So, if you parked at West Haralson and ran out and around and back, you would be doing a mile and a half. Twice is three miles.”

According to Threadgill, all the work visible from North Greenwood is part of the Thread, but the model mile is just a small part of the trail project that officials hope will provide a major recreational draw to the community.

“The second segment starts roughly at the Twin Cedars property on Daniel Street – right there in the southern part of that property that borders the city park property – and then we come in and out through Eastside Park,” said Threadgill. “We cross Niles Street. We go into sort of the back of Calumet Center… We go around that then interact with Shufford (Fields), and then ultimately Harris Fields and get back up to Mike Daniel (recreation center). That next segment has a lot of different connectivity to it.”

The two segments were funded through a combination of funds for trails from the previous special-purpose, local-option sales tax, funds from the Callaway Foundation and state grant funding. Officials hope that the second segment will begin construction soon after the model mile at Granger Park is completed, with both sections expected to be complete by the end of the year.

The third segment will not begin construction until January 2019 – and only then if the SPLOST passes – due to funding, unless the public requests for the council to find funding for the trail at an earlier date. The Friends of the Thread hope that the first phase of the plan – which includes 14 miles of trails which cover primarily points on the east and west sections of the city – will be complete within the next five years.

For more information about the Thread visit www.thethreadtrail.org

Reach Alicia B. Hill at alicia.hill@lagrangenews.com or at 706-884-7311, ext. 2154.

News

PHOTOS: 2025 LaGrange Shrine Club Car Show

News

TIGER TO FALCON: Troup alum takes off with the Air Force Academy

News

Dernell Renauld Stenson Foundation scholarships awarded

News

CONTRIBUTOR’S VIEW – Loran Smith: Open Final

News

Teacher, funeral director and veteran celebrates 100th birthday

News

CONTRIBUTOR’S VIEW – John Tures: Bipartisan Condemnation Of Political Assassinations Is What The Country Badly Needs

News

LaGrange Shriners to host car show for sick kids on Saturday

News

Section of Main Street in Downtown LaGrange closed to traffic on Friday, June 20 for Summer Street Party

News

Historic Royal Theater announces fall shows

News

Moon charts West Point’s transformation

News

CONTRIBUTOR’S VIEW – Loran Smith: The Varsity

News

TCSS names three new principals and student success director

News

CONTRIBUTOR’S VIEW – Thomas Knapp: What I Saw At My City’s “No Kings” Rally

News

PHOTOS: Tyrese and CeeLo Green perform at Sweetland

News

PHOTOS: Mary Joy Moosman’s 19th birthday party at Johnny’s Pizza

News

PHOTOS: Second Annual “Joy Ride” for the Mary Joy Moosman Foundation

News

TURF OR GRASS: Commissioners delay decision on soccer complex fields

News

CONTRIBUTOR’S VIEW – Dean Collins: Each new day offers a new challenge to seize each new opportunity

News

County approves road striping project

News

CONTRIBUTOR’S VIEW – Richard Ingram: Lafayette the Nation’s Guest

News

Armed Robbery on the 2500 block of West Point Rd

News

Influential Americana Singer-Songwriter, Will Hoge, to perform at Pure Life House of Music

News

LaGrange Art Museum unveils 2025 Carpet Wall Renovation

News

Troup County planning website overhaul