Mount Pisgah wrestling team secures 2nd state championship

JOHNS CREEK, Ga. — Mount Pisgah Christian School’s Varsity Wrestling team brought home its second Georgia High School Association Dual State Championship win on Saturday, Jan. 28. at Pickens High School in Jasper. The team won its first dual state championship in 2021.

Mount Pisgah Christian School,

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The next discussion on municipal elections is scheduled for the Feb. 28 City Council work session, a day before the March 1 deadline set by Fulton County.

Town Center continued

The City Council agreed to stay the course for Town Center, a strategic priority also identified at last year’s retreat. Councilmembers have already taken significant action on the project, like approving Town Center zoning districts meant to give guidance to members of the private sectors wishing to redevelop the area.

Most recently, the City Council approved zoning for Medley, a $350 million mixed-use development set to anchor the Town Center. Medley will provide residential, retail and “eatertainment” offerings.

“Your efforts, your visible public focus on Town Center, is what brought Medley to Johns Creek,” Greer said. “It wasn’t going to be another plan that sat on my shelf. It was going to be something we were committed to doing.”

The Town Center will also see Boston Scientific’s $65 million research and logistics facility as part of its Innovation Hub.

To spur more redevelopment, the city will begin construction of infrastructure and other improvements on land it owns at the site.

Creekside Park, a symbol

The 20-plus acre Creekside Park will anchor the city’s Town Center, serving as a community gathering space intended to host special events and other programming. The pond behind Johns Creek City Hall will be at its center.

Creekside Park was pulled out of the larger Town Center as its own priority to give the city more drive to its completion. The park is also symbolic, Councilwoman Elwood said.

Summing up Elwood’s estimation, located in Johns Creek, offers education from kindergarten to 12th grade, as well as preschool.

The win marks the fifth year in a row that the school’s wrestling team, the Patriots, have placed in the GHSA Dual State Championship. The athletic association brings wrestling teams from across the state together to compete in head-to-head matches. The team entered the tournament ranked third.

“This year we had five freshman starters, so the team knew it was really going to come down to the leadership of our veteran wrestlers who experienced the last championship run in 2021,” coach city to fill in gaps and improve mobility for pedestrians in addition to a trail connection between Cauley Creek Park and Town Center.

Josh Merry said.

Across the wrestling matches, nine of the wrestlers remained undefeated, and five did not give up a single fall.

With a statewide win secured, the wrestling team will head to the individual state championship in February.

Other essential pieces to the plan include renovation to the water reclamation plant at Cauley Creek Park for a makerspace and a riverside outparcel to be used for special events. Because the Cauley Creek Park’s special event space would be the lone special events facility, the City Council elected to seek other options for special events as a secondary priority.

Ongoing initiatives

Initially marked as a top-level priority, an effort toward sustainability was listed for secondary focus. Initiatives include Green Communities certification and a city recycling program. To obtain Bronze level certification, which requires 175 points, city staff have completed 14 projects, submitted 7 projects and have 11 projects in the works.

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Greer said, “It’s a symbol of priority. It’s the action that moves us forward. It’s what our community sees.”

Forging investment opportunity

Economic development is one facet of several concrete projects, like Town Center, but the City Council conceded that general economic development of the city should be designated as a separate strategic priority in 2023.

Another project on the books is the revitalization plan for Medlock Bridge at State Bridge roads. The plan encourages redevelopment of existing shopping centers that have high vacancy rates into walkable village centers at all four corners of the intersection. The project was also noted as a secondary priority.

Consultants are developing proposals for the plan, and city staff will make a contract award recommendation at the March 14 City Council work session.

Recreation and Parks

Out of the five strategic priorities, Recreation and Parks involves the most moving parts. The 10-year Recreation and Parks Master Plan, which has yet to be officially approved, will act as a springboard.

Greer said the “real crux” of plan implementation is choosing what the “first splash” will be, using the $1 million set aside in the 2023 budget. The City Council will then pick the next round of projects to be implemented through the fiscal year 2024 budget, she said.

Early on in the retreat, the City Council highlighted some projects, like trail buildout. Trails were the biggest ask among residents, according to questionnaires solicited for the master plan.

While buildout includes the 5K perimeter loop at Cauley Creek Park, the City Council plans for a sidewalk and trail network spanning across the

Stormwater was also listed to address eroding banks in the backyards of homeowners and the upstream causes for the problem. The City Council also voted to prioritize building and permitting. In November 2021, councilmembers eliminated four types of permits seen as overburdensome to homeowners. Since then, a task force has been formed to consider other adjustments.

Councilmembers also touched on TSPLOST, or Transportation Special Local Option Sales Tax, II projects. The city is expected to receive $65.5 million from the five-year tax that will fund some 18 projects approved last April. Projects include bridge improvements, traffic congestion relief, landscape and streetscape improvements, operations and safety projects and pedestrian and bike improvements.

Other secondary priorities drafted at the planning retreat include the city’s communication strategy, the Transportation Master Plan and historic preservation, which entails adopting a Historic Preservation Ordinance. The City Council also voted to add the Legacy Center, a performing art facility, to the list. At a recent work session, councilmembers agreed to acquire land for the venue.