Now what?
Everyone and their dog has an opinion about what should be done with this property, usually centered around their own personal priorities. That's normal. However the City can't use an individual's single perspective in this kind of decision.
My opinion is it should be used for some facility that we do not already have, and can be created on a reasonable budget. (I'm leaving the definition of "reasonable" to whichever CPA is holding the City's pursestrings.) The City should also not compete with the private sector. The latter pays taxes - don't drive them out of business.
We already have tennis courts, baseball/softball fields, youth soccer fields, a nature center, community garden, greenhouse, playgrounds, and nature trails. These already exist in other parks, and private facilities like church campuses. Some of them are very underutilized. Paying for something twice isn't a good use of tax money, by any standard.
There are two things that Dunwoody doesn't have:
1) A freestanding municipal center for our government
2) A multiuse football/soccer/track field for Dunwoody cluster schools.
The first idea is not original - it has been bandied about ever since the first news broke about this land deal. There's nothing wrong with renting space temporarily. Dunwoody only had a few months to get its feet under it and start operations and leasing a space was the only option feasible for that timeframe. But for the long haul, leasing can be more trouble than its worth. Buildings get sold, landlords go bankrupt, mortgages go into foreclosure. Time to start thinking about developing a municipal space wholly owned by the city that doesn't exist according to outside real estate machinations.
There's been a lot of chatter about "what to do with Georgetown" as in, how should it be developed, improved, etc. The general opinion I've heard is that it just "isn't a nice area". I haven't seen any crime statistics but when I go down there for a bottle of milk or baby formula at some obscene hour because I didnt' get to it during the day, I don't feel unsafe. Sure, the shopping center is an older building, that doesn't make it "bad" or blighted. But if there are concerns about public safety, try putting your police precinct smack dab in the middle of the development. Any remaining do-bads will scatter like roaches in daylight.
The idea for the second option came from the last DHA public meeting where a gentleman representing DHS girls' lacrosse appeared with two ladies from the team requesting financial support to refurbish a field on Peachtree MS' property for practice. My head has nearly exploded more than once from the twisted logic that is DCSS so I don't try to make sense of it. There's good and bad news here. The good news is that the
There's nothing stopping the City from creating a sports complex with scholastic sports in mind. Dunwoody HS doesn't have a home stadium - even for this Yankee that's ridiculous, moreso in the heart of SEC country. The girls' lacrosse team is willing to rebuild a flood plain because North DeKalb Stadium is too booked for any additional teams to use. Add to that boys' lacrosse, football, soccer, track & field, and you have one very busy athletic calendar.
A municipal sports complex geared toward scholastic athletics would provide teams from high school (and middle school, if necessary) the space to get practice and workouts in and a place to call "home field". The PVC farm has easy access to Peachtree and DHS, as well as 285. There's room for parking, and even access to MARTA. Bring in private vendors to manage concessions and maintenance, so you create jobs - hopefully for Dunwoody-area firms.
If DCSS should want to use the field for official season games, they would be able to negotiate a reasonable fee. (Clarification: this does not mean that DCSS would have priority over a Dunwoody stadium or even that they would have any rights to it at all. This does mean that if a regular game between Dunwoody and another DCSS school were to take place in this hypothetical stadium, DCSS would have to pay up to some degree.)
Thus Dunwoody scholastic athletics would have a place to play, and room to expand. If the "charter cluster" concept, where local authorities/boards could manage the local schools, comes to fruition, or even if Dunwoody should find itself in another county, the infrastructure is there to support the schools' athletic needs.
With all of this said, the City should never again have to ask the opening question in the title. "So now that we have it, what do we do with it?" Plan first, the negotiate and buy. Not the other way around, unless someone at City Hall thinks we have money and karma enough to squander.
2 comments:
"We already have tennis courts, baseball/softball fields, youth soccer fields, a nature center, community garden, greenhouse, playgrounds, and nature trails. These already exist in other parks, and private facilities like church campuses. Some of them are very underutilized. Paying for something twice isn't a good use of tax money, by any standard. "
Sorry, we do NOT have a public tennis center, only neighborhood associations. And clinics, academies, and tournaments are usually not allowed on these courts as dues-paying residents want the courts for their personal use - understandably. About 300 kids in Duwnnody travel to east Cobb, Blackburn, Sandy Springs, and Norcross for tennis lessons.
The city does not own any soccer fields. Two churches (they don't pay taxes) have youth programs. Concorde Fire has $2 million ready to invest in a soccer complex. Why not invite Concorde and their $2 million to the PVC farm?
We have softball fields for youth girls? Where?
Playgrounds? We have one for 50,000 residents, at Brook Run. Brook Run is not convenient to 70% of residents. The "playground" at the nature center is a tire on chains and a set of bars. That's not a playground.
Underutilized? Yes. Many residents don't feel comfortable using places of worship for recreation activity. If we are counting the places of worship in our green space, let the sustainability crowd know so they can add the JCC complex to our total.
A monument to government in the form of a city government building? No thanks. the current lease is working out well. No issues.
Fields for DeKalb County schools? NEVER! NEVER! NEVER! Dunwoody residents would never touch foot on those greens if DeKalb schools had control. DeKalb schools goes out of its way to screw us. Plus, DeKalb would reserve the field for any tem within an hour drive, shutting out locals. We pay millions as a city to DeKalb schools and no way would people here pay more for a field.
I feel bad for the student athletes so we need a different approach. We can build a complex and give priorities to Dunwoody-based teams like girls lacrosse. Those girls should do some research on Title IX and fight for use of the upper field.
A football stadium? Dunwoody had a chance to have a field at the high school but neighbors blocked it. Why? because it would be used by not only Dunwoody but several other DeKalb high schools, every single day. Traffic would never stop on Womack.
Our youth need fields, but keep DeKalb schools out of the mix. Schools in the city could use the fields, but stop there. DeKalb schools waste millions and millions a year, and if you vote for SPLOST you are an idiot, feeding the DeKalb monster.
Well, I'm glad someone got excited about my post. Thanks for visiting. :-)
In response to your comments:
Please take a look at the Parks and Recreation website, especially the listing for Windwood Hollow Park. Here's the link: http://dunwoodyga.gov/Departments/Parks-and-Recreation/Windwood-Hollow-Park.aspx
Please note the presence of tennis courts. (As well as a small playground.) Since there isn't a long line of residents down the street waiting to use this facility, I would respectfully submit that there is not a pressing need to build more of these courts at this time.
Regarding your comment: "Brook Run is not convenient to 70% of residents." "Convenience" is in the eye of the beholder. No matter where you put a facility, it's going to be "inconvenient" to someone. I also respectfully submit that the PVC farm would not be "convenient" to the same "70%" of residents as well. (BTW - where did you come up with that number?)
Regarding the following: "The city does not own any soccer fields." If you have to have a World Cup-style stadium to play soccer, then you would be correct. People all over the world find a way to play soccer on any flat stretch of land they can find. I'd like to hear an explanation why a simple flat, clean field, free of debris, is not sufficient to play soccer. Why does it require 7 figures to be suitable?
"Underutilized? Yes. Many residents don't feel comfortable using places of worship for recreation activity." Fair enough. Let's find out how many residents that is and then plan available space accordingly.
" the current lease is working out well. No issues." Suit yourself. Would it be more prudent to wait until there are issues and then try to relocate or build in an emergency rather than plan ahead?
"Fields for DeKalb County schools? NEVER! NEVER! NEVER! Dunwoody residents would never touch foot on those greens if DeKalb schools had control."
OK, I think someone needs to calm down and take a deep breath. Please re-read the post because your assumption here is completely incorrect. No one (especially me!) ever said anything about "DeKalb Schools (having) control." What I *did* say was almost identical to your comment in a later paragraph: "Schools in the city could use the fields, but stop there. " That's the point - keep DeKalb out unless they pay up and pay big. Dunwoody first.
"A football stadium? ... Traffic would never stop on Womack. "
But the PVC farm isn't on Womack, is it? It's not immediately next door to large neighborhoods of single-family homes. And the whole idea is that DCSS wouldn't have control. Dunwoody would be in control. That assumption was shown to be incorrect above.
"Our youth need fields, but keep DeKalb schools out of the mix. " No kidding! That's what I said!
Thanks again for stopping by and sharing. Try decaf, 'K? It's good for you. :-)
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