Friday, November 24, 2000
Friday, November 24, 2000 |
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Adult softball fields may take backseat to other rec projects
By JOHN
MUNFORD A plan to build two new adult softball fields in Peachtree City in the future might be scrapped so the funds can be used for other needs of the Recreation Department. At the regular meeting of the Peachtree City Recreation Department, leisure services director Randy Gaddo said the $175,000 could possibly be spent better on other projects. Gaddo said the city's adult softball program currently serves a number of teams consisting of out-of-town residents and teams sponsored by out-of-town businesses. Only 293 out of the current 1,025 participants are from Peachtree City, while 227 participants live in Fayette County, Gaddo said. The other 505 participants live elsewhere, he added. If scheduling ever became a problem, the department could insure Peachtree City residents were served first by holding registration for them first and allowing others to join to fill out the league, Gaddo said. The Recreation Commission agreed to have department staff prepare a list of other projects the funds could be used for. That list will be presented to the City Council at the city's annual retreat in March, Gaddo said. Gaddo mentioned that the current maintenance shop at the fields on Ga. Highway 74 south is tabbed for an expansion in 2003, and the department also plans to build a new maintenance facility at Riley Field in 2004 to serve the northern end of town. "We need the maintenance support right now," Gaddo added. Also, the Recreation Department is looking into building a boat dock at the Rockspray Pond Recreation Area and building a cart path bridge over the spillway there. Recreation Commissioner John Connolly said he is leery of spending funds earmarked for the Recreation Department on cart paths. No more youth softball fields are needed currently, Gaddo said, noting the falling participation levels over the past few years. More young girls are playing soccer instead of softball, he added. The commission also discussed a request from the City Council to develop a design contest for a new city flag. Gaddo said the council wanted to include not only youths but also adults from the community in the project. Gaddo asked the commission to develop some ideas for the contest so it can be discussed at the December meeting. He suggested that a system could be devised to let citizens pick from several finalists by either voting at the library or on the Internet. Recreation Commissioner Jan Shannon-Zink asked what happened to the previous city flag. Gaddo said he would try to find that flag so he could bring it to the next meeting and he would research the flag's history.
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