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King’s Ridge advances on campus expansion By CHAMIAN CRUZ chamian@appenmedia.com ALPHARETTA, Ga. — King’s Ridge Christian School is taking steps to keep student-athletes from having to travel off-campus to other courts and fields in the community. In December, King’s Ridge used funds from its Be Bold capital campaign to purchase the final two pieces of contiguous property next to the school’s campus off Bethany Bend. The campaign is part of an effort to raise money for campus improvements that are not part of its annual operating budget. King’s Ridge Director of Advancement Sharon Hurst said the purchase includes the former 17-acre Roadrunner baseball complex on Cogburn Road for $2.2 million as well as another 2 acres from the Founding Faith Worship Center for $400,000. The properties will be used to build additional varsity softball and middle school baseball fields, a new varsity baseball field, six tennis courts, state-ofthe-art turf for the existing soccer field and a cross-country course. While the expansion has been two years in the making, Hurst said the school had been interested in acquiring the Roadrunner property for nearly 10 years. It wasn’t until 2021 that a donor stepped up to bring the goal to fruition. Just as the school was about to close on the property, the contiguous parcel of land also went up for sale, and again, donors stepped up, Hurst said. Collectively, the King’s Ridge purchase adds 19.5 acres to the campus, expanding its overall footprint to more than 90 acres so that it no longer needs to rent courts and fields from cities like Milton and Alpharetta for practices and events.
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Roswell residents address stalled projects at forum By CHAMIAN CRUZ chamian@appenmedia.com
HANS APPEN/APPEN MEDIA
King’s Ridge Christian School now owns the former 17-acre Roadrunner baseball complex on Cogburn Road. The school purchased the property for $2.2 million in December as well as 2 more acres of adjacent land. Recreation land in those cities has been in high demand in recent years. Milton has spent more than $20 million in the past three years to acquire more than 400 acres of passive park land through its Greenspace Bond, which has freed up other money to buy ready-made athletic fields. In November, Alpharetta residents voted overwhelmingly in favor of a $29.5 million bond that will pay to refurbish more than half a dozen parks and further develop the city’s Alpha Loop linear park. King’s Ridge Head of School Jeff Williams said he’s looking forward to the opportunities the purchase will provide
to the entire “King’s Ridge family.” The Be Bold campaign will also help to fund the completion of the third floor of the Upper School Wing, which will add nine classrooms for students in grades nine through 12, as well as a school-wide campus master plan redesign for a new middle school and fine arts facility. The campaign covers the annual fund for the current school year and next year. To date, the Be Bold capital campaign has raised $4.6 million of its $9.6 million goal. The public phase of giving will culminate in a black-tie gala March 26. For more information about the Be Bold capital campaign or to donate, visit KingsRidgeCS.org/giving.
ROSWELL, Ga. — Mayor Kurt Wilson and the City Council are still making some adjustments as they move into their second month in office. During the council’s first open forum of the new year Jan. 31, Wilson announced that in the future, the forums would be limited to Roswell residents, and those wishing to speak for more than five minutes would have their opportunity after everyone else had been given a chance to speak. The rules were changed under former Mayor Lori Henry without input from the community, limiting speakers to five minutes and without any reserved time for further discussion. Wilson then noticeably got up from behind his desk and opted for a seat directly in front of the podium, where seven different residents presented an array of concerns. Before taking office, Wilson vowed to be more engaged. Roswell resident Frederic Guyonneau said he was hopeful the new slate of council members would usher in an era of collaboration and functionality, and he asked for updates on several properties such as the Dotsie Garner Mills Park on Old Roswell Road. Guyonneau said the
See FORUM, Page 9