Council, Residents Review Draft of Parks Plan

Monday night, the Dunwoody City Council took a look at four major plans for the city.

Discussion lasted well into the night, including almost an hour of public comments – most of which focused on the proposals.

Among the plans discussed Tuesday was the preliminary draft of the Parks and Open Space Master Plan.

During the public comments portion of the meeting, several Dunwoody residents gave impassioned pleas to save the theater building at Brook Run Park.

Queenie Ross, wife of councilman Danny Ross, spoke in support of keeping the theater, saying tearing down the existing theater for the possibility of a future one wasn’t prudent.

“Investment in renovation would be an investment in the quality of life for the citizens of Dunwoody,” she said. “I’m all about preservation and this building is worth preserving”

Robert Egizio, the artistic director at the Stage Door Players, voiced opposition to such a tear down.

“Tearing down brook run theater would do ourselves a great disservice,” he said. “We have an opportunity for it to become a great drawing card for our city.”

City Manager Warren Hutmacher said that there is a long term plan to put in a theater facility in the Dunwoody Village area, and that the city is taking the demolition of the park’s theater off the parks plan, at least until a new theater building is built.

“My recommendation would be showing the playing with theater as staying there and put some money toward renovating it,” he said. “From a long-term standpoint, having a facility in the Village would be great, but we’re probably talking a ten year window until we really got a facility built there.”

Denny Shortal said he felt like the parks plan was a little “utopian” in that it seemed like it brought everything for everyone. But, he said, he’d like to see it done on a more cost efficient basis.

The council is expected to send a $51 million bond referendum to Dunwoody voters this fall. If passed, the bond money would be used for the city’s parks system.

Among the changes the council had to the park plans were the shrinking of a splash pad near the playground at the entrance to the park. Councilman Robert Wittenstein proposed putting in some more open space in that area and cutting the splash pad down somewhat.

There was also a lot of discussion about the plans intent to put in three baseball fields on the southwestern edge of the park.

Some neighbors voiced concern about noise and light from ballfields.

Several on the council also wondered if it was a good idea to have three dedicated baseball fields without a softball field or multi-use field.

The city is still working out a possible joint use agreement for use of the football field and soccer field at Peachtree Charter Middle School.

The dog park would move, but stay the same size. There were several people in support of the park Monday. Some worried about a creek running through the proposed location, but Parks Director Brent Walker said the stream would run north of the proposed park location.

Neighbors of the Dunwoody Nature Center voiced concern about removing the ballfields for a playground and pavilion.

Also, several councilmembers said they’d like to see more tennis courts in the parks system, including at Brook Run Park.

The plan will be reworked from the council’s input for a new draft.