Cornelia, Georgia
Capital improvement projects are often the visible manifestations of what makes us proud to call our communities home, but hos does a community fund them? Many times, a local government will come up with the funding through careful budgeting, tax increases, or bond measures. Other times, money will come from outside sources through a grant or public-private partnerships.
City Manager Donald “Dee” Anderson, Jr., recognized both the needs of Cornelia, GA, (pop. 4,210) and the woefully inadequate resources available to address them.
Anderson and his staff set about finding funds. They researched and identified possible funders and then invested the time and energy necessary to complete and follow up on numerous grant applications. In the end, Anderson’s creative approach and dogged determination meant he was able to do what no manager in Cornelia could do before him—secure millions of dollars in grant money to improve the community’s infrastructure.
In a span of six years, Anderson was able to obtain $9.4 million in grant funding from local, state, and federal entities that paid for:
- A much needed expansion of the city’s waste water plant
- Construction of the City Park walking trail
- Construction of the city’s dog park
- Place of new sidewalks around the Cornelia Elementary School, where more than 100 children walk to school every day
- Installation of a new sewer line for the county high school
- Replacement of lighting and HVAC at the fire department.
Thanks to the efforts of Anderson and his staff, the city was able to pay for projects that improved their community’s quality of life that otherwise might not have been possible.
Meet the Manager
