Parks Home | Calendar | Facilities | Arts & Cultural Affairs | Athletics - Youth | Athletics - Adult | Aquatics | Golf Gymnastics | Natural Resources | Recreation Centers | Tennis | Therapeutics | Special Events

March 2014

SPLOST Projects Update
On March 15, 2011, a referendum on a four-year SPLOST (Special Local Option Sales Tax) was approved by voters. This program, started on January 1, 2012 and will be in effect through December 31, 2015. From this SPLOST, Cobb County Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs will be utilizing $82,023,000 for revitalization, facility renovations and upgrades to parks and facilities. Planning, coordinating and scheduling projects are in their early stages, but you will now be able to see some of the work in progress or soon to begin. Here is a listof current projects:

• Harrison Tennis Center Construction is continuing to move forward although progress has been hampered by wet weather. Block veneer has been completed, aluminum entrances and storefronts are being installed.

• The Project at Sewell Pool is moving forward. Project will be completed ahead of schedule and pool will be open for summer swim season.

• The new concession building and rebuilding of fields 1-4 at Sewell Park has begun.

• Demolition of field amenities is completed and demolition of the concession/restroom building has begun.

• The construction of the new tennis centers at Terrell Mill Park and Kennworth Park is underway. Demolition of existing buildings is completed.

• The design of the family leisure pool at Wild Horse Creek is completed and the project will bid February 27.

• The design of three new concession/restroom buildings at Fullers Park is completed and will bid February 27.

• The construction of two new concession/restroom buildings and associated utilities at Wallace Park has been awarded to Multiplex, LLC and work is underway. Work on field #4 and field #1 by PARKS staff continues.

• The construction at Hurt Road Park bid January 9, 2014 and construction is scheduled to start July 1.

• The construction at Sandy Plains Park bids January 23, 2014.

• The construction at Kennworth Park bids February 13, 2014

• Irrigation bids have been received for Al Bishop Park and the irrigation work has been awarded.

• A design kick-off meeting was held for the concession/restroom and maintenance buildings at Terrell Mill Park in December and preliminary design is underway.

• Design kick-off meeting for Fair Oaks Park and Milford Park was held the week of January 20.

• Preliminary design and cost study has been developed and submitted for Jim MillerPark and the alternatives are under review by PARKS.

• The design of the Civic Center was awarded to Croft and Associates at the January 14, 2014 Board of Commissioners meeting. Contracts have been issued and are routing for signature, insurance and bonds.
  

These are just a few of the numerous projects that you will see in the next few years updating and revitalizing our parks' system. For a complete listing of projects and updates, see the Splost 2011 web page on the Cobb County website.

Empty Bowl Brunch Raises Funds to Benefit Local Charities
The Art Place and Mountain View Arts Alliance staff recently presented MUST Ministries with a check for $1,100 as part of the 2013 Empty Bowl Brunch fundraiser. MUST is a faith-based organization that provides services to people and families in crisis.

New Game in Town - Pickleball
Lost Mountain Tennis Center will be offering a new program called  PICKLEBALL. We will provide some equipment that includes paddles and balls. If you have your own, feel free to bring them. The goal is to introduce players to the game and to schedule some play dates!

Pickleball is a sport played with a hard paddle and wiffleball. The game combines elements of badminton, tennis, racquet ball and ping-pong, and is played on a badminton-sized court. It is played as a singles game with one person per side or as a doubles game with 2 people on each side of the net. The object of the game is to score points by successfully hitting a 3" diameter plastic ball across the net without it being successfully returned by the opponent.

Pickleball is a simple game designed for all ages and any athletic ability level. Today the sport is played by people all across the country. Many seniors have taken up the sport in their retirement years, but it is also played by thousands of school children and top athletes in their 20s and 30s. It is an easy sport to learn and everyone can play the game after just a short time of hitting the ball back and forth across the net. However, it is also a sport where you can keep learning new strokes and increasingly sophisticated strategies for years on end. As the sport has grown in popularity, it has continued to be played in back yards, but it has also spawned many competitive tournaments across the country. Classes for Pickleball begin at Lost Mountain Tennis Center beginning the week of April 14th. For more information, call Traci Thomas at (770) 528-8525. Come join the fun!

Silver Comet Trail Bridge Sections Under Repair
Six pedestrian bridges along Cobb County’s 12.8-mile Silver Comet Trail will be closed to the public this winter, while Cobb County Department of Transportation (CCDOT) crews repair or replace pedestrian bridge-ends over Powder Springs Creek, Lucille Creek, Noses Creek, Olley Creek, Nickajack Creek and Cooper Lake Road.

The repair work, funded by the 2011 SPLOST, will result in consecutive closures of each pedestrian bridge from January to April 2014, resulting in NO ACCESS and NO DETOURS across the bridges during construction. At the same time the pedestrian bridge work is being conducted, additional crews will be improving other areas along the Silver Comet Trail by repairing fences, drainage systems and grading.

“The repairs will preserve the original historic pedestrian bridges,” says Faye DiMassimo, Director of Cobb County Department of Transportation. “Once the work is completed, the pedestrian bridges will be reopened providing safe access to all who enjoy using them.”

Cobb County officials strongly advise the public to pay close attention to all warning signs and stay out of CLOSED construction zones, as there will be severe drop offs, some as deep as ten feet, which could cause serious injury or death to anyone ignoring the posted warnings.

Not every area under construction will be completely closed off to the public. CCDOT officials warn trail users to slow down when approaching all signs, and in areas not completely closed, and for bike users, be prepared to dismount and walk through.

More work will be conducted next spring on the trail where a rolling trail closure will occur as the entire Silver Comet trail is resurfaced. The combined projects will result in the Cobb County Silver Comet Trail looking like a new trail.

Built between 1890 and 1904, the 61.5-mile Silver Comet Trail follows the abandoned railroad line once traveled by Silver Comet train passengers traveling from Atlanta and Birmingham to New York, Philadelphia and Washington. CCDOT converted the trail into a scenic 12.8 mile paved multi-use trail in the 1990’s. The county section of the trail begins in Smyrna and travels west through southern parts of the County.

Information and project updates will be posted at www.cobbdot.org, or contact the project manager at james.hudgins@cobbcounty.org.