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Published Wednesday, February 08, 2012 in Local

Senoia City Council approves a 20-year recreation expansion

By Winston Skinner

The Newnan Times-Herald

The Senoia City Council on Monday approved a 20-year recreation master plan.

The plan calls for expansion of the number of parks in the city and for reworking some of the existing facilities. Having more walking/biking trails in Senoia is also a part of the plan.

A year ago, the council appointed a citizens committee. The committee was asked to study the "recreation needs of the Senoia community," according to City Administrator Richard Ferry. The committee worked with the city council, staff and local citizens to develop the plan.

A survey on recreation needs and wants was placed on the city's website for several months. There also was "a paper version of it," Ferry said.

From Dec. 3-Jan. 6, there was a display about the recreation plan at city hall. An open house was held on Dec. 15.

Members of the committee were Chuck Eichorst, Stephanie Grover, Rhonda Moye, Amy Smoak and Vanessa Welch. The committee worked with AMEC E&I to develop the master plan.

Mayor Robert Belisle expressed "my heartfelt thanks" to the committee members. "I want to thank every one of you who worked on this," he said.

The report included a survey of existing parks and trails.

A map that is part of the plan shows starred areas on either side of the city. While the starred tracts are currently undeveloped, Ferry said those particular sites are not necessary to the future recreation plans. "You are going to need about 50 acres for an active recreation site and another 20 acres for another active recreation site," he said.

He said those sites could be the spots on the map, "places we haven't even considered yet" or even property that is currently in unincorporated Coweta County that could be annexed into the city in the future.

Expanding and reworking existing parks -- Seavy Street Park, Marimac Lakes Park, Leroy Johnson Park -- are part of the proposal. "We have several good parks that are not really built to their full capacity," Ferry said.

Among the recommendations were a multipurpose field at Seavy Street that could be used for Frisbee throwing or a picnic and two platforms for fishing and an events lawn and boardwalk at Marimac Lakes. Repairing drainage issues at Leroy Johnson Park is on the list, and a senior league baseball field, a multipurpose field and walking trails are proposed there.

There also is a tract of about four acres on Main Street near the railroad bridge that the committee proposed become Gateway Veterans Park. The park is seen as "kind of a gateway into downtown Senoia," Ferry said.

A pavilion with paths leading the flags from various wars in American history is planned -- along with a platform for watching the passing train.

Ferry stressed that the plan sets goals for 20 years. The report also established priorities for the next few years:

* a baseball field, paving and underground utilities at Leroy Johnson Park.

* restrooms, drainage upgrade and paving at Seavy Street Park.

* restrooms at the gazebo, garden paths, event lawn and paving for parking at Marimac Lakes.

For the gateway park, the recommendation is for basic paving and placement of a kiosk showing "what we plan to do there," Ferry said. The top priorities for trails are for one running from Seavy Street to Stonebridge and another from Cumberland to Cumberland Village.

The last part of the report examines funding options, including impact fees and grants.

Ferry said grants often come with conditions that can offset the financial help they provide. "It usually winds up costing considerably more than if you did it with local dollars," he said.

The report was unanimously approved by the council. "We're going to do our best to see this comes to pass," Belisle pledged.

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