Johns Creek Recreation & Parks Advisory Committee Meeting Summary - May 21, 2025

The Johns Creek Recreation & Parks Advisory Committee (RPAC) met on Wednesday, May 21, 2025, from 6:30 PM to 7:58 PM at 11360 Lakefield Drive, Johns Creek, GA. Chair Shafiq Jadavji presided with a quorum present. The agenda included combined March/April department updates, the Q1 park rental report, presentations from the Ocee Park Athletic Association and the Johns Creek Veterans Association, approval of the March 19, 2025 meeting minutes, and scheduling of a summer social. No public comments were offered.

Department Update (March & April)

• Director Erica Madsen presented a combined update because the April meeting was canceled. Park Place Senior Center hosted 111 programs with 1,532 participants in March and 117 programs with 1,578 participants in April, including tax assistance and art center programming.
• Daffodil Days Children's Carnival (March 29) debuted a new carnival format at Heisman Field with approximately 3,500 attendees; free rides, games, and a petting zoo were offered. Committee members reported community feedback that the event was well loved, though ride lines reached 30-45 minutes.
• Battle of the Bands drew 350 attendees and 7 bands. Free Outdoor Fitness had 228 participants in March and 422 in April.
• Easter Bunny pop-ups at Autrey Mill, Newtown, and Cauley Creek Parks attracted an estimated 100 children. Earth Day was celebrated in partnership with Autrey Mill, with Public Works/Stormwater staff discussing invasive Chinese privet.
• The International Festival (May 3) drew approximately 2,500 attendees due to rain, versus a typical attendance of 15,000+. Touch a Truck (May 17) at City Hall was well attended, with police K-9 and traffic unit demos and fire department equipment.
• Construction: The Boardwalk at Town Center is progressing on schedule for summer 2026 completion, with the boardwalk poured and overlook decks under construction. The Shakerag Storybook Trail renovation was completed, improving accessibility and removing trip hazards. Landscape improvements continue at Cauley Creek Park.
• Chattahoochee Greenway: National Park Service coordination is ongoing but slow due to NPS staffing and funding constraints; NPS continues to list the project as a priority.
• Cauley Creek Maker Space: The design-build contract covers a public-use shell only; air conditioning, equipment, and operational decisions remain undetermined. The project was funded as a FY23 capital item and is located in the former water reclamation facility building.

Q1 Park Rental Report

• Director Madsen reported that facilities are heavily used and in high demand. Chair Jadavji announced that future quarterly reports will summarize rentals by sport and park to better illustrate field usage across Newtown, Shakerag, and Cauley Creek parks.
• The detailed rental report shows high utilization across pickleball courts, athletic fields, and other facilities. For example, Cauley Creek Pickleball Court 1 recorded 188 bookings and Cauley Creek Athletic Field 2 (Synthetic Turf #2) recorded 87 bookings during Q1.

Chair Update

• Chair Jadavji welcomed Martin (Marty) Jelleme to his first RPAC meeting. Jelleme is head coach of the Atlanta United unified soccer team and runs the North Fulton United special needs soccer program in Johns Creek.
• Jadavji highlighted a drone video of The Boardwalk construction on the city's Facebook page and noted the project is targeted for completion in summer 2026, aligning with the nearby tunnel project.
• Committee Member Sandra Pastorello described her proposal, previously raised at RPAC and at City Council, to charge city employees the resident rate rather than the non-resident rate (1.5x) for recreational programs. The mayor has asked staff to examine the change, and City Manager Greer will draft the fee resolution amendment to bring back to the department.

Ocee Park Athletic Association Presentation

• Lucas (Board Chair) and Jeremy Hall (board member) presented. The Ocee Park Athletic Association (OPA) is a 100% volunteer nonprofit offering baseball for ages 4-15 at Ocee Park, which is geographically surrounded by Alpharetta but part of Johns Creek.
• The program serves approximately 1,300 registrants per year (about 700 unique families) across fall rec, spring rec, summer all-star, and travel teams. The estimated gender split is 90/10 boys to girls, and roughly 60-65% of families are Johns Creek residents. Residency is verified through utility bills scanned into Team Sideline, and the city independently geocodes registrant lists. Non-resident fees are a pass-through to the city of about $6,000 per season.
• OPA is required to make a minimum $25,000 annual capital improvement to the park and has exceeded that, contributing over $350,000 in the last 7-8 years. Summer tournaments and concessions generate roughly $13,000-20,000 and a matching amount annually, respectively, all reinvested in capital improvements.
• The association turns away 30-40 families per year due to capacity; 6U-8U divisions fill within 2-2.5 weeks of registration opening.
• OPA's top capital wish is turfing the Lang field, the only field without a turf infield, which serves the largest age group (6U-8U). Lucas estimated this could clear 50-60% of the waitlist.
• Committee members encouraged OPA to explore a Johns Creek resident priority registration window (Lucas said it would require review of their Team Sideline software), expand girls' participation, and create special needs baseball opportunities, potentially partnering with Miracle League. OPA is also considering netting over the quad fields, with a contractor quote expected next week.
• The new lights at Ocee Park were praised for improving visibility and safety, and field 2 flooding has been substantially improved by city sod work.

Johns Creek Veterans Association Presentation

• Keith Bogwell, President and Color Guard Captain, presented. The Johns Creek Veterans Association (JCVA) operates out of Newtown Park and was instrumental in establishing the Veterans Memorial Walk and the Vietnam Wall replica, which is the second largest privately funded veterans memorial in the country outside Washington, D.C.
• When the traveling Vietnam Wall was hosted in Johns Creek in 2017, it drew the most visitors and raised the most donations of any stop, enabling the permanent installation. The city provides JCVA meeting space at Park Place, and JCVA provides Color Guard support at city events.
• JCVA annual events include the Kabul 13 memorial ceremony (4th year, co-hosted with the Knights of Columbus and recognized as the only ceremony honoring all 13 service members), a Vietnam War Veterans Day ceremony marking the 50th anniversary this year with a Huey helicopter static display, Patriots Day on 9/11, Veterans Day, and a June memorial service for a Vietnam Marine hero.
• The 11th Hour Squadron trains volunteers with Emory Johns Creek Hospital to ensure no veteran dies alone. The Veterans Assistance Program partners with Operation Rally Point and other organizations, including giving away 50 cars to veterans over 4-5 years and housing a homeless veteran and his terminally ill wife.
• Bogwell expressed concern that the memorial is underappreciated and inadequately signed; he requested that the Vietnam Wall receive equal prominence on park signage. He also noted plans to expand the Vietnam Plaza paver area to relocate 138 pavers from the sidewalk; PLM will provide materials and prep work, with Boy Scouts and other youth groups providing labor.
• Outreach plans include a promotional video in three formats (school education, regional promotion, short), school visits and field trips, and a donated landscaping and accessibility improvement from a national landscaper.
• Committee members offered to coordinate volunteers for the paver project, suggested connecting JCVA with Visit Johns Creek for regional marketing, and proposed using existing Newtown Park events to draw visitors to the memorial. Chair Jadavji committed to making the Visit Johns Creek introduction.

New Business - Meeting Minutes Approval

• A motion to approve the March 19, 2025 meeting minutes as presented was seconded by Sandra Pastorello and Adam Cleary and passed unanimously.

Other Business - Summer Social

• The committee selected Wednesday, July 16, 2025, for a summer social gathering in lieu of the regular July meeting.

Key Outcomes

• The March 19, 2025 meeting minutes were approved unanimously.
• The committee selected July 16, 2025, for its summer social, replacing the regular meeting.
• Staff will reformat future Q1-style rental reports to summarize usage by sport and park for clearer quarterly reporting.
• City Manager Greer will draft a fee resolution amendment to extend resident rates to city employees.
• Chair Jadavji will connect JCVA leadership with Visit Johns Creek for marketing support.
• OPA will explore a Johns Creek resident priority registration window and report back.
• JCVA's Vietnam Plaza paver expansion will proceed with PLM materials/prep and volunteer labor coordinated through parks staff.