Project Updates: A Busy 2025 Is Already Underway
January 17th, 2025
2025 figures to be an eventful year in the City of Dalton with a large number of projects that are either already under construction, breaking ground soon, or in the design stage.
"The City has more capital projects in queue than probably at any other time in the history of Dalton," said Andrew Parker, Dalton's city administrator. "(We have) a variety of projects ranging from quality of life to infrastructure improvements to building and facilities projects. So, we've had quite a bit going on the last couple of years and it will continue to be a busy year in 2025.
City leaders have hit the ground running in January to move forward on a number of projects. Here's an update on where some of those projects currently stand:
Grant Projects
The City of Dalton has been fortunate to receive several grants in recent years for use in capital projects. Dalton received two project awards from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Improving Neighborhood Outcomes Grant. One is being used to resurface the infields of the softball fields at Heritage Point Park. The second is being used to help fund the streetscape improvements project on Cuyler Street and Pentz Street.
Caption: Softball fields at Heritage Point Park are being renovated with new artificial turf infields
"We're excited from the standpoint of the tourism impact and economic impact that Heritage Point Park has for our community," Parker said of the synthetic turf project. "We have a lot of regional tournaments there with people coming from out of state, and the natural infield clay had a difficult time recovering quickly during inclement weather, so it was leading to some event cancelations. The new synthetic turf, you can basically play on it as soon as it stops raining."
The grant funding for the Heritage Point project totaled $2.2 million. Installation of the new turf is underway and is expected to be completed in early March.
The Cuyler-Pentz streetscape project has been on the drawing board since the early 2000s when Hamilton Street and many other downtown streets were remade with brick sidewalks, decorative traffic lights, and other aesthetic improvements. The ARPA grant for the project was $2.2 million which is being supplemented with local funds to bring the project to completion. The work will not only improve drainage and pedestrian functionality of the sidewalks, but it will also enhance the beauty of the Cuyler-Pentz Street corridor.
The City also received funding from the USDA to build an urban community garden which is being built on Trammell Street. The garden will featured 10 raised beds which will be available to members of the community and also area schools for gardening classes and science instruction. Work on the project got started late in 2024 and City leaders hope to see the first seeds planted in the gardens later this year.
Work Continues At The Airport
The runway at the Dalton Municipal Airport was repaved late last year for the first time in more than 35 years. The new runway is thicker and wider which will allow the airport to service a larger class of aircraft which could mean more traffic and more fuel sales. There's more infrastructure work on deck for the airport this year, with projects to improve lighting and wiring funded by state and federal grants with matching local funds. The airport also received funding to construct new "T-hangars" at the facility where aircraft owners can store their planes.
"We operate the airport as an enterprise fund, which means it's intended for the revenues of the airport to offset the expenditures of the airport," Parker said. "The only two major streams of revenue for an airport are fuel sales and hangar space rentals. Once the new T-hangars are constructed, that should provide a stable source of revenue in perpetuity for the airport to continue to cover the cost of their operations."
Places To Play
The City of Dalton wants to be Georgia's best place to live, work, and play and 2025 will see more improvements to the places where residents have fun. The Dalton Parks and Recreation Department has a number of projects in the works, including the much anticipated completion of work at the John Davis Recreation Center and also a new pickleball complex on the John Davis Center campus.
The pickleball project was delayed late last year when bids to build the facility all came in over budget. At their first meeting of 2025, the Mayor and Council approved a plan for engineers to amend plans for the facility to make it more affordable while keeping its core amenities. The facility will still feature a 15-court complex with some shaded courts, seating areas, restrooms, and concessions. Leaders anticipate the project being put back out for bids in February with construction expected in the spring.
"The (pickleball) project was largely driven by the demand we've seen at Brookwood Park," Parker said. There are pickleball players that are having to wait to play and we had a temporary fix of converting some of the tennis courts at Lakeshore Park for dual purposes, but that's not ideal because it it kind of prevents us from hosting some large scale tennis tournaments. By having a dedicated facility, I think there will be a lot of excitement about that."
Work on the John Davis Recreation Center itself is expected to take most of the year, but the pool is expected to be back open for use this summer. The City's goal is to have the pool open by June 1st.
Caption: Construction of the new pool access building at the John Davis Center is underway and expected to be completed by summer
"The pool access building is well underway and structurally is pretty much vertically constructed and now it will be a matter of just putting the roof on, doing the electrical work on the inside," Parker said. "We're going to create a way for folks to be able to use the pool access building and the pools as that part of the project will be complete in the early part of summer."
Work on the rest of the John Davis Center is proceeding as well, with a brand new gym, multipurpose meeting space, and renovated offices for Parks and Recreation Department staff on the way.
"What I would tell the community is that this is essentially a new community center for the north part of the city, similar to the Mack Gaston Community Center. It's got a lot of the same features that Mack Gaston has, with assembly spaces, recreational spaces, programming spaces," Parker said. "We all know how successful the Mack Gaston Center has been in serving the community for the last 10 years and we hope that John Davis will have that same outcome for the community."
There is also a project planned for 2025 at Al Rollins Park to convert the infields of the baseball and softball fields there to synthetic turf, similar to the work at Heritage Point Park. The Al Rollins project will be funded through bond proceeds, and is expected to be completed before the end of the year.
Extending The Mill Line Trail
The Mill Line Trail quickly became one of Dalton's most popular places in 2024, and this year City leaders will get to work on extending the trail. The plan has always been to connect the Haig Mill Lake Park trail to downtown Dalton.
Last year, City leaders worked with community stakeholders and a design firm to chart a course for Phase Two. Planners settled on a route that will take the Mill Line along Coronet Drive to a new pedestrian bridge across Mill Creek. From there, the route heads up to the trailhead for the Mount Rachel Trail. Users will have the option to go up Mount Rachel or follow the Mill Line down Rachel Street to the existing greenway trail back towards Chattanooga Road. The route will then use sidewalks (for pedestrians) or on-street paths (for cyclists) to reach Five Points and downtown.
Caption: Canine residents Molly and Snickers accompanied their owner on a walk across Mill Creek on the Mill Line Trail in early January
"We've been meeting with the local engineering firm that designed the Phase One portion of the project and we anticipate asking the Mayor and Council in February to award the design services contract for that Phase Two," Parker said. "The design work would take about six months to complete and put us in a position to be able to put that project out for bids later this summer or in the fall, with construction taking shape and the trail probably opening at some point in the spring of 2026."
New Bunkers For Nob North
Work continues on renovations to the bunkers at the Nob North Golf Course. The City-owned facility had gone more than two decades without renovating the bunkers, which were beginning to cause playability issues for the course due to poor drainage. The course has remained open during the project, with staff allowing players to play one half of the course twice while the other half is off-line. Work on the project is expected to be completed in April.
"The golf course is much like the airport where it’s an enterprise fund. The revenue of the golf course will be paying for the cost of the bunker renovations over a period of time and no tax dollars will be used to fund that project," Parker said. "Now that we've resurfaced the cart paths and reworked the greens a few years ago, this was the last legacy maintenance item that had not been taken care of. We're excited that we are able to get that project complete this year so that it will reduce maintenance costs and improve playability for golfers in in the future."
Busy Year Ahead For Public Works
The Public Works Department has been engaged in an ongoing battle against stormwater over the past five years and they're winning the war. Stormwater management projects have reduced flooding concerns in several areas of the City, and more work is planned in 2025.
Work will begin soon on the Franklin Street Stormwater Bypass, which is the fourth and final phase of the Walnut North Drainage Improvements Project. Other projects along North Glenwood Avenue, Olivia Drive, and the Temple Beth-El Memorial Park on Valley Drive are in the design phases and will begin later this year.
There is also a plan to replace the aging Underwood Street bridge spanning Mill Creek. The design work for that project is nearly finalized, and planners expect to put the project out for bids once permitting is completed.
The 2024 SPLOST included funding for a corridor improvement project planned for East Morris Street. That project will extend the improved sidewalk system from the "Block 79" area at Green Street to Walnut Avenue. The SPLOST also included a corridor improvement project to extend sidewalks along north Thornton Avenue to the area of Hamilton Medical Center. Permitting for that project is underway.
DPD Property And Evidence
Construction continues on the Dalton Police Department's new Property and Evidence Building which will be completed this year. That project was funded by the 2020 SPLOST. The facility, located just to the north of the Police Services Center on Jones Street, is being built because the department's existing evidence facility was rapidly running out of room.
Caption: Crews continued work on the new DPD Property and Evidence Building on Jones Street recently
"Some of this evidence has to be stored in perpetuity, depending on the nature of the case," Parker said. "The great thing is the building will be outfitted with all the CID (Criminal Investigation Division's) lab equipment, and also there will be a facility to examine vehicles that have been involved in crimes or crashes."
Work on the building's roof is nearly complete, which should allow construction to proceed without weather delays.
Getting To Work
There's a lot to accomplish in 2025, and we can't wait to see what the City of Dalton looks like a year from now.
