InTucker Magazine

Ask Rip – February 2019

Rip Robertson is the Parks and Recreation Director for the City of Tucker.

The Ask Rip inbox is full this month…and that’s a great thing. It shows people are really engaging with our parks and curious about the direction we’re headed. So, without further ado…

Eliot Robinson – Greetings. I’m looking for some relatively easy walking trails, preferably with some open space to get some sun. Can you point me to a good description of each of the Tucker parks with a list of facilities?

Eliot, we’ve got plenty of easy-to-moderate walking and hiking trails throughout our City parks. If you’re looking for a longer hike, I would recommend Henderson or Kelley Cofer Park, where you can hike down around the lakes and enjoy some nature. There are heavily wooded, but equally beautiful, trails at Johns Homestead and Smoke Rise Park. Tucker Nature Preserve offers what is probably the easiest hike. While it is through the woods, it starts and ends in a greenspace where you’ll have full sunlight.

For a complete list of our parks and what amenities are offered, check out the Tucker Outdoors app on our webpage.

Bob McOsker – Hi Rip. I noticed that the benches facing the lake at Kelley Cofer Park are anchored to the ground, but have no concrete slabs in front of them. As a result, there are bad, low places in front of the benches that sometimes fill with water from rainfall. Is this something that you can address down the road at Kelley Cofer and, perhaps, at some of the other parks?

Bob, thank you for the question. This is actually something that is already on our list of projects. We hope to accomplish these pads in the coming year. The goal is to create neater, cleaner areas for citizens to sit and relax in our parks. Beyond that, we’re hoping to bring additional park benches and trash receptacles to the parks, as well.

Daniela Hazelwood – Any thoughts on using existing park space to convert to dog park/off-leash friendly space? I’d like to suggest looking at Tucker Nature Preserve for a dog park. Is it in any way possible?

This is one of the biggest questions we’ve gotten throughout our Parks Master Plan process. That process, which started last October, is now nearing its conclusion. The Mayor and City Council got an update from the project consultants at their meeting on January 28. From there, they’ll make a final presentation in the springtime. The Mayor and Council will need to approve a plan and funding going forward. This will happen once they’ve had the chance to consider the results of our other ongoing plans and studies. But from this process, we’re going to be able to see what kind of will there is within the community to build a dog park and what logistical hurdles we’ll need to clear to make it happen.

As for converting existing park space, that is certainly something we plan to look at, and not just at Tucker Nature Preserve. You can stay involved and updated on the Parks Master Plan at www.tuckerga.gov/plans or just email us at parks@tuckerga.gov.

The last question I want to address this month actually came to me as part of my presentation last month at Tucker’s University of Government Affairs. We had to move the class session at the last minute because of some filming happening at Tucker Recreation Center. So, logically, someone asked what happens to the money the City makes off film shoots at the Rec Center?

All rental fees generated by the Rec Center are part of our revenue budget. We have worked hard on making improvements and are grateful to our City leaders for continuing to support our efforts. The money we’ve generated has allowed us to propose additional repair and maintenance funding from the City Council to continue to improve both our Recreation Center and parks facilities. We’re talking about small items like paint touchups to big items like new HVAC units. So, it is a win-win.