The Carroll County Board of Commissioners has approved requests from Carrollton and Roopville for additional green space funding, coming at a cost of roughly $1.1 million to the county.

It will be paid out of a subsidiary account from the 2004 special purpose local option sales tax specifically designated to go to help county municipalities fund green space and recreation projects.

As outlined in the requests, Roopville will use the $41,075 allocated by the county to construct a walking trail, a picnic area, a children’s play area and a scenic overlook.

Carrollton will receive $1.1 million, with $1 million of that going toward the purchase of 152 acres at the north end of Rome Street for green space, and an additional $100,000 will go for the purchase of several rundown houses on Lambert Street near the downtown area to be turned into a park.

The Carrollton City Council in February agreed to purchase the 152-acre tract from owner Benjamin Hobbs at a price of $2.4 million to be paid out of the most recent SPLOST. By contributing $1 million toward the purchase, the county will enable the city to leave additional funds in its 2009 SPLOST account for green space.

The contract should be finalized within the next several weeks.

This land buy is an important step to ensure the city has green space for generations to come, said Councilwoman Mandy Maierhofer.

“We don’t have a lot of passive parks that you can walk through,” Maierhofer said. “I am absolutely thrilled about this.”

Councilman Rusty Gray agreed.

“I think it’s a great asset for the city. There will be a time in the life of our children where they won’t be able to experience wide-open spaces, and I think saving that in the middle of the city is a great thing,” Gray said. “I just think it’s going to be like having a Central Park in the middle of Carrollton.”

The additional $100,000 given by the county will go to the purchase of property along Lambert Street between Martin Luther King Jr. Street and Highway 27. With county funding, the city will pay $95,000 and take responsibility for demolition of the existing houses and construction of the pa rk itself.

According to Gray, the property currently serves as a hangout and encourages crime in the area.

Once the property is cleared, it will be converted into a small park, with work expected to begin as early as next month, said City Manager Casey Coleman.

“I will be so pleased to see that as a green space,” Coleman said.