Rec items headed for PTC ballot?

Mon, 06/18/2007 - 2:04pm
By: John Munford

Peachtree City residents may get a chance to vote on two expensive additions to the city’s recreation system this November.

Voters will head to the polls anyway to fill the two expiring City Council seats currently occupied by Judi-ann Rutherford and Stuart Kourajian. Thursday night, council will consider whether or not to ask voters if the city should finance construction of two multi-purpose sports fields and an expansion of the city’s Gathering Place senior citizen’s center.

According to city estimates, design and construction cost for the two fields and practice areas ranges from $2.2 million for real grass turf fields and $3.56 million for fields with artificial turf, which would allow them to be used year round by football and soccer programs.

The design and construction cost for the Gathering Place varies from $1.47 million up to $2.3 million depending on the size of the expansion and the type of kitchen facility that would be built.

The two items would be listed on the ballot in separate questions, city staff has indicated based on direction from City Attorney Ted Meeker.

An expansion of The Gathering Place has been bandied about by city officials for several years but it was most recently put on hold to determine if the new community center at First Baptist Church would be able to accommodate its overflow. Recently, some senior citizen activities have been moved into the city-owned building next to the Gathering Place that also houses the city’s amphitheater and the Southern Conservation Trust.

The city’s recent approval of more than 600 homes in a special subdivision aimed at active adults also may add more to the city’s recreation base for seniors as it will have an activity coordinator and a clubhouse to host events.

As for the sports fields, the city’s football program has been held at Riley Field for many years, but in recent seasons noise complaints have cropped up from neighbors and the program has grown significantly, although a larger number of the participants are from outside Peachtree City, officials have said.

The youth football association has said having the new fields would allow for adequate practice, playing space and parking for the program.

The new field could also be used by the city’s soccer program, and would eliminate a lot of maintenance issues with grass, according to Randy Gaddo, the city’s director of leisure services. It would also allow soccer and football programs to host more tournaments, Gaddo said in a memo to the City Council.

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cmc865's picture
Submitted by cmc865 on Mon, 06/18/2007 - 3:34pm.

LETS STAFF PUBLIC SAFETY FIRST AND BEEF UP OUR PUBLIC SAFETY INFASTRUCTURE BEFORE WE BUY FANCY FIELDS OF GRASS. WHEN WE STILL HAVE ONE MAN ON A FIRE TRUCK AND NO ONE TO STAFF A LADDER TRUCK, I THINK BUYING FIELDS OF GRASS (REAL OR NOT) IS ABSURD. VOTERS CALL YOUR CITY STAFFER AND COUNCIL MEMBERS AND DEMAND YOUR PUBLIC SAFETY COME FIRST.
AND YES I KNOW WRITING IN CAPS IS YELLING. MAYBE YELLING WILL GET SOMEONES ATTENTION.


yellowjax1212's picture
Submitted by yellowjax1212 on Mon, 06/18/2007 - 2:34pm.

All of these additions sound nice and would be benificial to the people of PTC, young and old. However, these kinds of expenses must come after we have properly staffed our Police and Fire departments. When salaries for our public safety workers are at a level that we are no longer a laughing stock to other area municipalities we can build all the recreational facilities we want. Until then we have excellent (above averagee) sports facilities and the Gathering Place doesn't seem to be bursting at the seams just yet.


Submitted by dollaradayandfound on Mon, 06/18/2007 - 4:41pm.

Well yellow, you see, such things as renovated pasture fields to play on once or twice a week, don't cost anything.
They are paid for over 500 years by paying two or three times what they cost in interest to rich bondholders! You just have to understand that!
Police want paid a lot every week or so!
Now, what this town really needs is something for the late teen-agers to do that is supervised. And that means at most anytime and any day they want to go, not just for a game in the afternoon occasionally.
Town managers don't want that responsibility, so they don't ever mention it.
House parties here are the norm. There has been several all nighters near our neighborhood for three weeks now, the parents are in Hawaii.

Submitted by Arf on Mon, 06/18/2007 - 2:31pm.

"...the program has grown significantly, although a larger number of the participants are from outside Peachtree City, officials have said."

And why should "our town" pay big bucks to provide recreation facilities for participants from outside Peachtree City? I thought that a town's primary obligation was to provide services for residents and taxpayers of the municipality.

yellowjax1212's picture
Submitted by yellowjax1212 on Mon, 06/18/2007 - 2:36pm.

Here here Arf!
Let the out of towners (in many cases out of countyers foot the bills).


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