Little Creek Horse Farm, which the county bought in 2004, has been a novelty within the DeKalb County parks system, offering a slice of country life in a crowded Atlanta suburb.
Riders and visitors can have genuine equine interactions, like therapy and riding lessons, and board horses without traveling outside the perimeter. The nonprofit Little Creek Farm Conservancy has supported the county’s work, bringing in programming and events and funding some capital improvements.
But behind the scenes, tensions have been building between the conservancy and its partners at the county. Those tensions came to a head on Oct. 1 when the conservancy board announced it plans to dissolve the organization unless five people are willing to take over as board members. The horse farm would not go away if the conservancy dissolved. The county would still operate it as a horse farm, just one without a nonprofit board supporting it.
In a letter to members, the board says the conservancy “is at a crossroads.” It has closed nine of its 10 programs designed to attract visitors, and the county has “declined” to work with the group on capital projects. To read the full letter, click here.
The letter notes that four of the five board members are also moving horses boarded at Little Creek to other stables. Boarding a horse at the farm is not a requirement for serving on the board. During a densely packed community meeting held Oct. 6 at the horse farm, the board members declined to discuss the reasons for moving their horses.
One of the board members said, “That’s not relevant to this discussion,” noting that it’s a “touchy subject.”
David Flaherty, a division manager with the county department of recreation, parks, and cultural affairs, emailed Commissioner Michelle Long Spears after Decaturish contacted her about the conservancy’s announcement. Flaherty also attended the meeting, where he spoke highly of the conservancy’s efforts to promote the horse park.
Flaherty’s email to Spears noted three “main issues” at the source of the conflict. The first one he listed:
— “The County’s request that all horses boarding at LC contribute in specific ways to ongoing efforts to provide equine education and riding lessons.” (Emphasis added by Flaherty.)
His email also notes, “There are some boarders at Little Creek who do not want their horses used in riding lessons. That is the case with several of the conservancy board members.”
To read the full email, click here.
When asked by Decaturish after the meeting whether the county’s request to use boarded horses for riding lessons was a sticking point, he demurred to the conservancy board but said the request was in line with county policy.
The announcement from the conservancy notes that the conservancy and the county’s recent visioning process for the farm established a goal of 40,000 annual rides and visits, about 20 per horse per week.
“[Little Creek Farm Conservancy] developed and expanded 10 programs to support this vision with a goal of 3,000+ annual rides & visits, potentially growing beyond 10 percent of the total target over time,” the announcement says. “Due to challenges with Little Creek operations, LCFC has chosen to end nine of its 10 programs.”
The challenges are, apparently, not financial. While Decaturish could not find any current tax filings for the group online, the group confirmed it has more than $10,000 that it could give to a new board or another nonprofit organization if the board dissolves.
The board listed its own issues it has with the county, including:
– Unclear and changing operating hours
– Changing of event scheduling
– A lack of volunteer support
– Facilities left in poor condition or taken out of service
The presentation at the Oct. 6 meeting includes a list of capital projects—like bathroom updates—that the county has declined or repurposed. The presentation says the county has “declined” to meet with the conservancy to discuss these projects. To see the full presentation from that meeting, click here.
Flaherty took issue with some of the claims made in the presentation.
“I’ve asked on several occasions to have a meeting to discuss capital projects … and it didn’t happen,” he said during the Oct. 6 meeting.
Judging by the attendance at that meeting, there are people interested in getting involved with the horse farm. One person in the room questioned why the board set a deadline for Oct. 10 to find new members or vote to dissolve. Board members indicated they were frustrated and tired and wanted someone else to take over.
Flaherty, who attended the meeting, said nothing would change at the park if the conservancy dissolved other than the county losing a “beautiful partnership.” He said it “kind of fell apart this past year for a number of reasons.” He noted that things were happening behind the scenes that weren’t being discussed publicly.
“There’s more than just, ‘We’re tired’ or, ‘We don’t want to be on the board anymore.’ There were some things that went on,” he said. “We don’t need to discuss those, but I think there’s an interest in the board continuing, and the county would absolutely be 100% in favor of that.”
Tamara Dillard is the barn supervisor for the county parks department and is past president of the conservancy, where she once worked as a riding instructor. She attended the meeting and said she believes both the county and conservancy care about the future of the horse park. She thinks the board could benefit from “fresh energy” from new members.
“It’s just time for a fresh start, and there may be value of getting people on the board that don’t actually own horses here, and so that it’s not a conflict of interest,” Dillard said.
There will be another community meeting about the future of the conservancy on Oct. 7 at 5:30 p.m. in the community room of the horse farm. The horse farm is located at 2057 Lawrenceville Highway. To access the community room, take Orion Drive and head toward Lawrenceville Highway and the North DeKalb Mall area, but take a right on Constellation Drive before you reach the highway. Follow that road to the back of the horse farm, where the community room is beyond the gate. Parking is limited and the room is small.
To learn more about the conservancy, visit: https://littlecreekfarmconservancy.org/.
This story was provided by WABE content partner Decaturish.
