Athens residents love trails and want more of them, according to surveys conducted for a new Leisure Services Department master plan.
Sandy Creek Nature Center (90%), Firefly Trail (88%), Sandy Creek Park and Lake Chapman (87%) and the North Oconee River Greenway (82%) were among the top five recreational facilities that residents said they were most satisfied with, along with the Lyndon House Arts Center (84%). Nature programs had the highest satisfaction rate of any type of program—gymnastics, dance, aquatics, etc.—with 79% very or somewhat satisfied. And trails were by far the amenity that respondents listed as most important for their household.
Despite a high satisfaction rate, trails were also the amenity that the most people said needs improvement, at 52%. Adding trails, preserving natural areas or related topics like dog parks received more comments than all other types of facilities put together, including sports and arts.
Consultant firm BerryDunn sent the survey to 7,000 Athens households and received 619 responses. Those responses were weighted to match Athens’ demographics, and the results have a margin of error of plus or minus 3.9%, according to BerryDunn senior manager Linda Paradis. Consultants also spoke to more than 2,000 people at pop-up events, focus groups and individual interviews.
“People are interested in taking care of existing parks and facilities,” Paradis said, summarizing the survey results at a Nov. 12 Athens-Clarke County Commission work session. “There is a clear emphasis on trails, access and connectivity. Continued maintenance and accessibility improvements are important. Additional resources for programming and activities are needed, with a particular emphasis on youth programming, more special events, adult programming, and nature and outdoor programs.”
But Leisure Services also has a problem: Not everyone knows what the department offers, or even that parks exist. When asked about barriers to visiting local arts and recreation facilities, 38% said they didn’t know where the facilities are located. And 56% said they don’t know what programs are offered.
Broken down geographically, that problem was particularly acute in the 30602 and 30605 zip codes, which include the UGA campus, Five Points and the Eastside. But for those who are aware of Leisure Services facilities and programs, 30605 had a high satisfaction rate, along with the 30601 zip code, which includes central and northeastern Athens and has a high concentration of facilities, including Lay Park, the Lyndon House, the Morton Theatre, Sandy Creek Park, Sandy Creek Nature Center, Heard Park and Virginia Walker Park.
Commissioner Ovita Thornton, whose District 9 encompasses much of the 30601 area code, said residents there are still underserved. “Even though it’s a great number [of facilities], there is still a large part of 30601 that is not serviced,” she said.
The 30622 area code, around the Bogart area, had the lowest rate of responses that said their needs are being met, and the highest rate of people who use facilities in other counties because Athens’ are too far away.
Commissioner Jesse Houle, who represents the Atlanta Highway area, reiterated a longstanding desire for an active recreation park on the Westside. There are no parks on the Westside outside the Loop, and the closest is Ben Burton Park, which is primarily a nature area.
The way Athens residents consume information may be part of the challenge for Leisure Services getting the word out. Two-thirds of respondents said they hear about facilities, programs and events through word of mouth. “I can tell you this is not something we hear a lot of,” Paradis said. “It means you have a very tightly knit community, which is a really nice thing.”
Paradis said that BerryDunn will produce a draft of a final strategic plan between April and June of next year.
Quarter-Billion Dollar Quarry
Turning an East Athens rock quarry into a reservoir to supply drinking water during droughts and accommodate growth could cost as much as $260 million, Athens-Clarke County officials told commissioners last week.
That’s the price tag for building pump stations at the J.G. Beacham Water Treatment Plant off Barber Street at the Loop and the quarry near Athens-Ben Epps Airport, as well as a pipe connecting the two. “This is very high-level cost,” acknowledged Hugh Ogle, assistant director of the Public Utilities Department, but the work could be broken up into phases. “I think we can do some of this work with in-house forces… and we can bring this number way down,” he said.
Public Utilities staff is recommending that the 36-inch-wide pipe follow Conrad Drive and Northside Drive, using mostly county-owned right-of-way to minimize the cost of acquiring easements on private property and permitting requirements.
The ACC government bought the Rock Hill quarry for $23 million in 2020 with the intention of allowing mining to continue for 10 years before converting it into a reservoir. But PUD has since suggested keeping it open until 2045 to continue collecting lease payments while the quarry is being filled with water.
Athens-Clarke County has permits to draw 23 million gallons of water a day from the North and Middle Oconee rivers—but only when flow levels are high enough. During a drought, the county turns to Bear Creek Reservoir in Jackson County, which it also shares with Oconee and Barrow counties. That has proven to be insufficient during droughts in 2007, 2012 and 2016.
In 2016, “we were actually within a couple of days of having to go out and find somewhere to get water,” Ogle said. Commissioner Mike Hamby recalled being able to walk across the Middle Oconee at Ben Burton Park in 2007.
In addition to the importance of a plentiful water supply for economic development, Athens’ population is expected to grow to about 200,000 by 2045, and the other counties that share Bear Creek Reservoir are growing as well. Jackson County “is not going to stop growing. Barrow County is not going to stop growing,” Acting Manager Niki Jones said. “They’re going to keep pulling water out of Bear Creek, if not more. They’re probably going to try to renegotiate [their share of water] at some point in time.”
Quarry funding would likely come from a revenue bond paid back with the fees charged to water customers, similar to a bond package topping $300 million that paid for renovations to the water treatment plant and three sewer plants, Mayor Kelly Girtz said. Public Utilities will include a funding recommendation in its upcoming five-year service delivery plan.
If quarry operations are going to be extended, Commissioner Tiffany Taylor wants assistance for homes and businesses around the quarry that have been damaged by blasting. Jones said ACC is bringing in a state agency to conduct a third-party investigation. “We need to understand if those impacts are actually coming from the quarry,” he said.
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