InTucker Magazine

Ask Rip – October 2018

Sean – I wanted to inquire about where to go to apply for a job at Tucker Recreation Center.

Sean, we periodically have either full- or part-time jobs come open in the Parks and Recreation Department. When we do, you can find the positions posted at tuckerga.gov on our “Career Opportunities” page.

Currently, we are in the process of interviewing candidates for the Recreation Center Manager position. I mention this because many of our InTucker readers likely have gotten to know our outgoing Rec Center Manager Tom McDermott. Tom is one-of-a-kind, coming from a background in business and finishing out his career in City recreation. He was integral in getting Tucker Recreation Center up and running as the City’s destination for community activity. He led the way in creating rental agreements and fostering relationships with new and existing vendors at the Rec Center.

This month, Tom leaves us to go into retirement. Tucker’s loss will be his wife, children and grandchildren’s gain. Our new Recreation Center Manager will have some big shoes to fill.

Barbara Katz – My spouse and I are avid pickleball players and would like to know whether the Henderson Park tennis courts could have pickleball lines painted on them. The cost would be minimal and it would allow people to play either tennis or pickleball on the same courts.

Pickleball is something that’s grown in popularity and we’ve seen other cities take steps in recent years to give pickleball players a place to play. I will say that we are looking into how Tucker can develop pickleball courts. Using those existing tennis courts is one option, but not the only option. So we have some studying to do before we come up with a long-term answer.

With that said, we are embarking on a Parks Master Plan. Public input meetings are scheduled for October 2 and November 14 at 7 p.m. at Tucker Recreation Center. Ideas for new sports are the perfect type of feedback our consultants will be looking for as we go through this process. Of course, not everyone can make these meetings. Feel free to email us your feedback at parks@tuckerga.gov.

Courtney Smith – Does Tucker have any parks that allow dogs to be off leash? I know a certain handsome fellow who would love to know!!

Courtney, for safety reasons the City does not allow dogs to run off leash in any of our parks. Being a pet owner and having been here in Tucker for more than a year, I understand that there is a demand for some sort of dog park or a larger, contained off-leash area. As I mentioned in my answer to the previous question, this is the type of feedback we’ll want to hear in our Master Plan meetings. I hope you’ll be able to join us!