Parks commissioner tells Buckhead Council of Neighborhoods about new parks, Chastain changes

Mayor Kasim Reed’s vision “is to have a park within a half-mile walk of every man, woman and child in Atlanta,” Atlanta Commissioner of Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs George Dusenbury told the Buckhead Council of Neighborhoods at its Aug. 9 meeting.

Commissioner George Dusenbury

“The most challenged area is Buckhead,” Dusenbury added. He indicated there is a lot of green space in Buckhead, but most of it is privately owned and property in Buckhead is very expensive. 

He said he is working closely with Dist. 7 City Councilman Howard Shook, who was attending the meeting and sitting behind Dusenbury, on developing a greenspace plan for Buckhead. “This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to get the land for parks,” Dusenbury said.

He cited four examples of park projects he is working on with Shook, including the 5-mile GA 400 Trail project, Mountain Way Commons park in the North Buckhead neighborhood, enhancements to Chastain Park including possibly reconfiguring the golf course, and a new park near Lindbergh Center, which would be the one offered as a concession by the developers who seek to build a controversial “big box” mixed-use development there.

Some in the audience later expressed concerns how Shook and Dusenbury could be working on the 3-acre park near Lindbergh Center when it is only part of a development proposal which has not yet been approved for land-use and zoning changes by the Atlanta City Council.

The lower end of the North Fulton Golf Course at Chastain Park,
which includes the 15 acres for potential re-development. 

In terms of Chastain Park, the commissioner spoke of 15 acres in the south end of the park and in the middle of part of the golf course which is becoming available for new uses.

The acreage has been used for years as a depot for equipment of the city’s Department of Watershed Management and a fuel depot also for the Department of Public Works. Also included in the 15 acres is the office for the Chastain Park Conservancy and that organization’s maintenance facility. Access to the parcel is a roadway through the golf course off of Powers Ferry Road.

Dusenbury said there is some talk about moving the clubhouse for the golf course onto that site, which would provide for parking for golfers and maybe even a couple of acres for a dog park there as well. However, he said that might entail moving a few holes on the golf course, which he added is something he doesn’t take lightly.

George Dusenbury answers a question at the BCN meeting

“The golf course is a successful part of that park operation,” Dusenbury stated. He said his department is first talking to golf course people they know before talking to American Golf (which leases and runs the golf course) about any possible changes in the course.

Dusenbury said he has heard discussions about putting a road through the golf course which “I would not support.”

“We would engage the conservancy and the community,” in all discussions about the use of the 15 acres and other park enhancements he said. “I want to emphasize we are looking at that space as how it interrelates to whole park.”

Council chair Jim King said the “trapped woods” behind the depot, which is also referred to as “Magnolia trail” could be finally uncovered. “We’ve been trying to get in there for years,” King added. “It’s called the ‘opportunity site’ of the park’s master plan.”

Dusenbury said his is one of the only departments in the city which did not suffer a budget cut. His department will receive $1 million to $2 million a year over the next five years. “We’re working on a five-year plan to replace equipment. … We need to prioritize,” he added. “We continue to seek opportunities for efficiencies.”

Kids and families frolic near the playground on north end of Chastain Park 

He relayed that one of those opportunities being looked at involves trash receptacles at the parks. He said his new Director of Parks, Doug Ross, is looking at receptacles that include technology that would alert his department’s maintenance people when the receptacle needs to be emptied.

Dusenbury said the department could save a great deal of manpower time and money by picking up trash receptacles when they are full and need to be picked up rather than picking up half-full or practically empty receptacles on a regular pickup schedule.

George Dusenbury discusses greenspace in Buckhead as
City Councilman Howard Shook (at right) listens. 

At the same time as the Aug. 9 BCN meeting with Dusenbury, a North Buckhead neighborhood group was holding a meeting at St. James United Methodist Church about transforming an 8-acre parcel of land that runs beneath a GA 400 overpass into a park called Mountain Way Common.

Friends of Mountain Way Common unveiled signage to mark the two entrances to the proposed park and told a group of about 20 at the meeting that fundraising initiatives and visioning meetings will begin at the end of the summer following cleanup efforts along Mountain Way this month.

With the city of Atlanta strapped for cash, funding for the park will come entirely from charitable donations.  The Mountain Way Soirée, Mountain Way Common’s first major funding event, will be October 6 at the Phipps Tower penthouse.  The event will include food, live music and wine tastings. Organizers hope to make the fund raiser an annual event to support operations and maintenance of the park once planning and construction are complete.

Livable Buckhead Inc, a nonprofit group dedicated to increasing greenspace in Buckhead, has partnered with FMWC to accept donations and provide tickets to the event, as well as handling other administrative tasks related to the park.

FMWC recently received a $25,000 Visioning Grant from Park Pride, a nonprofit focused on improvement and development of Atlanta area parks.  The grant is intended to help create a master plan for the park based on input from residents.  Meetings for the visioning process will begin in September.