Recreation needs for Peachtree City are changing as its populace ages, but a full-service plan for meeting leisure needs over the next five years will cost more than $7 million, the City Council learned at its annual retreat.

While its Recreation Master Plan is not finished, city officials began wrestling with the kinds and costs of facilities and leisure activities within the city as the population begins to "age" and grow more slowly toward a buildout of around 40,000-50,000.

The draft master plan, developed over the last year by members of the Recreation Commission and city staff, recommends that the city purchase the Braelinn Baptist Church property on Robinson Road. Cost estimates for needed facilities vary according to whether the city buys the property, said leisure services director Randy Gaddo.

Along with the draft master plan, the commission submitted a "point paper" on the Braelinn church property as a "multi-use Community Activity Center." Gaddo said the aging of the population will create more need for covered room-type spaces and fewer needs for baseball, soccer and other outdoor fields. However, he added, there is no question that the city is underserved for football fields, and the Rec Commission's studies have determined that a roller hockey rink would be used and supported by many residents.

If the church property is bought, said Rec Commission chairman Earl Spell, having that property would eliminate the need to expand The Gathering Place and to build a gymnasium at the Kedron Center. Other advantages to the property would include a fully-equipped performing arts auditorium (lights, sound, etc.), a large kitchen, 18 classrooms with some that expand, 369 parking spaces and a fenced pre-school playground.

Buying the church location and doing about 14 more projects would cost around $10.2 million, as compared to $7.79 million for the expansions without the church property, Gaddo reported. Some of the projects include a lighted multi-purpose field at Kedron, seven playgrounds or "tot lots," four more baseball fields and three more soccer fields, and indoor basketball courts. In addition, office space, concession buildings, restrooms and maintenance areas will be needed at various sites.

Council member Jim Pace said that obviously the plan will have to be prioritized. When it is final, he said, a public education program to let people know what the needs and plans are would be a good idea. He doubted whether voters would support a $10 million bond issue for recreation all at once, especially since the city also is facing construction costs to expand its citizen service departments and the police department.