City commits $1 million to upgrade East Roswell Park

By DELANEY TARR delaney@appenmedia.com

ROSWELL, Ga. — The Roswell City Council approved a $1 million expense to replace two turf fields in East Roswell Park at the Feb. 27 meeting.

The two fields, originally made of grass were replaced with 100 percent crumb rubber made of recycled cryogenically frozen tires in 2013. The turf is now past its warranty, and Recreation and Parks officials say it must be replaced.

Recreation and Parks Director Jeffrey Leatherman presented two options to update the crumb rubber, a two-layer system and a three-layer system. The options cost approximately the same amount of money.

The two-layer system consists of a sand layer topped with crumb rubber.

Leatherman recommended the three-layer system, which has sand and crumb rubber layers topped with a thin layer of “cooling technology” that can lower the ground temperature by about 25 degrees.

“I absolutely do see the proposed three layer as an improvement,” City Councilman Mike Palermo said.

Councilwoman Lee Hills said she has used fields with the cooling layer, and the difference in temperature is “shocking.”

Hills also said the council “beat the bond,” referring to the $107.6 million Recreation and Parks bond Roswell residents approved last November. Resurfacing each of the fields will cost approximately $500,000. One turf replacement is already funded in the 2023 budget. The second field will be funded by an amended budget, which will later be reimbursed with money from the bond.

The field replacements are part of a long list of updates planned for East Roswell Park. Leatherman said his department plans to overhaul all of the athletic fields, retrofit field lights, update bathroom facilities, rehabilitate golf carts and improve parking.

Leatherman said the city has put in “significant investment” to East Roswell Park before and with the bond.

“I’d like to point out this is East Roswell Park, and near and dear to my heart is getting a lot done and moving things forward over there,” said City Councilman Peter Vanstrom, who serves as liaison to Economic Development Plans call for having the new turf installed by early June.

The council also held a first reading for an amendment to the city’s code of ethics. The proposed amendment requires councilmembers to recuse themselves from zoning votes when they have received campaign contributions from the business or individual involved in the zoning matter.

The City Council has followed the policy since last year, but the ordinance will incorporate it into law.

Councilmembers said the move helps “clarify a loophole” in the ethics code. The official ethics code states councilmembers should recuse themselves from participating in votes involving a conflict of interest, but it doesn’t list it as a requirement.

“I think this was a great step forward in just really rebuilding trust,” Councilman Palermo said. “It’s really making sure residents of Roswell know that any decision being made, its being made purely on what they see as best for the city and not just benefiting from campaign donors.”

The council unanimously moved the resolution forward to a second reading.