Recreation & Parks Advisory Committee Meeting - March 18, 2026
Recreation & Parks Advisory Committee Meeting - March 18, 2026
The Recreation & Parks Advisory Committee (RPAC) met on March 18, 2026, at 6:30 PM at 11360 Lakefield Drive, Johns Creek, GA. All members were present except Erin Eggerton (absent). The meeting included a chair update, a department update with a staff spotlight, council updates, and a presentation on the Boardwalk Town Center, followed by a tour of the newly opened park.
Consent Calendar
- Approved Meeting Minutes: The Committee unanimously approved the minutes from the January 21, 2026 meeting, with a motion by Lisa Burton, seconded by Kendrick McWilliams.
Public Comments & Testimony
- No members of the public were present to speak.
Discussion Items
- Chair Update: Chair Jillian Phillips shared results from a recent OPAA survey regarding Ocee Park. Top priorities identified by respondents included turf fields (specifically the turf length field), facility upgrades such as netting over batting cages and the quad, lighting replacement at Jacobs Field, and concrete work and safety features. She also invited committee members to submit questions for engagement with the Mayor and City Council.
- Department Update: Recreation and Parks Director Erica Madsen presented January and February 2026 statistics for the Park Place Senior Center: January had 1,223 total participants (44 social programs, 57 fitness programs); February had 1,511 total participants (52 social programs, 59 fitness programs). Athletics: Newtown Rec flag football had approximately 500 participants. Special events: Lunar New Year drew 2,500 participants; Cauley Creek Night Hike and S’mores had 45 participants; Fly Fishing Women’s Clinic (in partnership with Georgia Women’s Fly Fishing Club) had 22 participants. Upcoming events include Adaptive Game Night (March 20), Daffodil Days (March 28), and Easter Bunny Hop (April 3) at the Boardwalk Town Center.
- Council Updates: Director Madsen reported that Parks Without Borders was approved by Johns Creek and Alpharetta. Council added a FIFA Double Feature and Finals watch party. Council directed staff to prepare an activation policy for the Boardwalk Town Center. Council terminated the Makerspace design-build contract.
- Committee Information Requests: Staff provided responses to prior requests: the Alpharetta Senior Center non-resident fee update remains under consideration with council; total revenue from park rentals in 2025 was approximately $190,000; and Park Place participation trends for 2024 vs. 2025 were presented (monthly comparisons showing steady growth, e.g., January 2024: 895, January 2025: 1,105; February 2024: 1,104, February 2025: 1,189).
- Upcoming Park Projects: Projects include park signage at Morton Road and State Bridge Park, completion of Newtown Park basketball court renovation, overhead netting at Ocee Park (risk management project), and cricket cage improvement at Shakerag Park (turf replacement and extension). Additionally, OPAA is partnering with the city to install synthetic turf on the back youth fields at Ocee Park.
- Staff Spotlight: Director Madsen introduced recreation staff: Maggie (Park Place program coordinator, 14 years), Josh (Cauley Creek and Newtown Rec coordinator), Dylan (outdoor programming and concerts), and Corinna (special events planner). She also announced that she is leaving her position and that Assistant City Manager Chris Haggard will serve as interim parks director.
- Boardwalk Town Center Presentation: Assistant City Manager Chris Haggard announced that the fences around the Boardwalk Town Center park were removed that day, allowing public access. The Committee then took a tour of the facility.
Key Outcomes
- Approved January 2026 Meeting Minutes: Unanimous approval.
- Boardwalk Town Center Activation Policy: Staff will draft an activation policy following council direction.
- Committee Engagement: Chair Phillips will relay committee questions to Mayor and Council.
- Adjournment: The meeting was adjourned by motion after the tour.
Meeting Transcript
Okay, we're recording. Thank you. All right. Thank you so much. Welcome everyone. We're delighted to uh kick off our our meeting here. So can I get uh call to order thank you at this time I'll just call roll. Um I'm gonna just go the order of a habit in front of me. Marty Paul three, Jillian, Sandra, Alan, Richard, welcome. Paul, Lisa, Kendrick and Christie down there. All right, everyone's present. Thank you so much. Yes, we have a full house. This is uh fantastic. Um do we have uh any public comment? No, no one here for today, so thank you so much. Uh all right, so um I'll kick off with uh with a quick chair update. Uh a couple things. Want to recognize Richard who's joined us. So Richard, do you want to give us uh number one right green light with your button? Um and then give us just a little bit about who you are and your interest for uh RPAC here. Yeah, sure. Um originally from the great state of Texas, um transplant to the Georgia area. I've been involved in athletics and youth athletics for over 25 years. Recently I've coached in the area at Chattahoochee, uh Northview, and we'll be going back to Chattahoochee again this year. Um had children go through Northview, and suddenly I'm back with another one that will feed through Chattahoochee. So I'm I'm now interested again in what's offered in the city and in the programming and things like that. Excellent. Well, we're happy to hear that. What sport at Hooch? Uh football. But I'll probably do girls' basketball as well. Very good. Very good. Um, all right, so um quick update. So there were a few um in the public that had approached me asking me some questions about the uh recent OPAA survey that was done around uh OC Park. So I thought I would just bring a couple of items to them. We do have them planned for um maybe not we have to work out the the details, so we'll let everybody know when we have that special special guest, right? To have them come in and talk about their program and any updates. Um but I did want to give a quick summary from that survey, just for those obviously out in our community that may be watching or watching back, uh, a quick update about that survey. So a lot of responses, um responses came from uh parrots, coaches, and the volunteers that go through the OC programs, right? And um certainly baseball is the big one, obviously. I know it, you know, well. Um they had pulled on a number of topics around priorities that if they were to do something at OC Park, what would they like to see? So it was all kinds of things around lighting and replacing the fields, um, right, and netting and things of that nature. Um so they did give me uh a bit of a summary, and they'll go into more detail when they come for our next meeting. Um top priorities were around the turf fields, uh specifically the turf length field. Um so if you all are familiar with that, um, is uh under consideration, it had one of the highest priority scores, which uh I thought was great, right? They're looking for something, right? Community's looking for something durable, weather resistant.
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