TAD Advisory Committee - East Downtown Area

Special Called Meeting East Downtown TAD Advisory Committee Weds, August 9, 2023 Committee members present: Rinne Allen, Charlie Gloudenis, Rashe Malcolm, Rinne Allen Committee members absent: Fred Smith, Smith Wilson, Regina Walker Meeting called to order at 9:12am (after some technical difficulties) by Ilka McConnell Motion to Approve Agenda: Madelyn Van Dyck Second: Rashe Approved by unanimous vote of committee members Motion to table June meeting minutes until Caitlin Dye returns from maternity leave: Rinne Allen Second: Charlie Gloudenis Motion to table approved by unanimous vote of comittee members New Business: JP Lemay from ACCGov Leisure Services shared details about Georgia Improving Neighborhood Outcomes Grant that ACCGov Leisure Services applied for. State funded 3 separate grants to ACCGov and also did not require the community grant matching fund amounts. There are also SPLOST funds as part of sub-project #11 that will come through the Tier 3 allocation. ACCGov LS will use SPLOST and state grant funds for updates to Heard Park and Lay Park. Heard Park and Lay Park both have the same community building design, and the idea is to make the buildings look brighter, more welcoming, have more modern interiors, and give them unique identities in the communities that they serve. Heard Park (and Lay Park, which is not located in the East Downtown TAD) building will get power washed and repainted exteriors, replace more modern awnings, landscaping updates, repainting building interiors, flooring updates including gym floors, new bleachers, community room furniture, add technology, updates to indoor recreation equipment. Plan is to make it brighter, more updated, and welcoming. Heard Park has parquet gym floor, and it will be refinished and minor repairs will be made. Bleachers will be replaced with retractable automatic bleachers. $400,000 state grant funds will go to Heard Park, and $425,000 SPLOST funds will be used for Lay Park. There is another state grant under consideration for Heard Park and Lay Park additional updates. if the grant is awarded, the following will be done specifically at Heard Park: additional security cameras, replacement of gym divider, basketball goal height adjusters for players of different ages, replacement of tables/chairs, replace indoor recreational amenities (foosball tables, etc) and additional fitness equipment (weights, treadmills, etc), replace fitness room doors, repaint gymnasium, picnic shelter renovations including new tables, shade structure at Heard Park pool. Fall 2021: CDBG & capital funding from ACCGov Leisure Services renovated the basketball court; court surface re-dug and repours, new posts and backboard installed. it is really heavily and well used by the community. It is time to resurface the tennis courts at Heard Park; some cracking of the surface. They're doing some planning for funds towards improving accessibility at Heard Park. The accessible entrance is currently at the back door of the building, or need to walk the long way to the front door. Looking at replacing the current stairs with new stairs and a new ramp with switchback from parking lot to the community building. Not possible to get a fully accessible ADA-compliant entrance, however, due to grade of the hillside. They're decide to extend the parking and add new handicapped accessible parking. Will widen current walkway to create a loop driveway around the community center that can help with easier pick-up and drop-off by the front door, increasing accessibility. The walking pathway that connects the park to the entrance of the Nellie B. Community will be aligned with a pedestrian crosswalk in the parking lot to create safer access. Will move and re-do the community garden spaces, and they hope to restart youth gardening programs that had been offered in the past. Parks planning staff are envisioning some renovations to the concrete plaza area between the Heard Park community building and the pool to make it more attractive and have less concrete. The plan is to have the renovations completed by this time next year. They are about to begin collecting bids for the work at Heard Park. Construction at Heard will likely begin early 2024. Some discussion of connectivity between Heard Park and Walker Park and the relatively distance between them. "Parks" were one of the most requested needs from the East Downtown TAD public input meetings, and the area has 2 very large parks adjacent to it, Heard Park and Walker Park. Discussion of signage needs around parks to raise awareness of where parks are located. Sometimes parks in ACC seem to be "hidden," because of lack of signage. Suggestion for adding small directional signage across ACC to help point people to where parks are located, rather than only large monument-style signage at entrances. Committee asked for Leisure Services to share any information or design/cost info they might have related to signage. Discussion of public art in parks as part of SPLOST projects and to make parks more inviting and bright. Public art funding is included as a percentage of each SPLOST project. Motion to Adjourn: Rinne Allen Second: Rashe Malcolm Motion to adjourn approved by unanimous vote of the Committee members.