City Council Names Roberts As Finalist For Parks Director

Friday, September 27th, 2024

The City of Dalton Mayor and Council held a special called meeting Thursday evening to consider a recommendation for the Parks and Recreation Department director position. The Council voted 3-0 to name Steve Roberts as the sole finalist for the position. Councilmember Steve Farrow was unable to attend. Roberts was recommended by the Recreation Commission last week. 

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Steve Roberts is a familiar name in the Dalton Parks and Recreation Department. He worked in the department from 2001 until 2017, beginning as an adult and youth athletic supervisor and eventually rising to the position of athletic coordinator. He then left to become assistant director of the Lafayette Parks and Recreation Department before becoming the director of Kennesaw’s Parks and Recreation Department. After four years in Kennesaw, Roberts took over as the director in Cartersville in 2023. 

Caption: Steve Roberts is the sole finalist for Dalton Parks and Recreation director

"Steve has served the City for 16 years, and over the last 8 years has been with some really great departments in our peer communities across the state, Cartersville, Kennesaw, and Lafayette," City Administrator Andrew Parker said Thursday night. "Steve has already shared some ideas with me, so I now he's already fully invested while he's working out his notice with the City of Cartersville, but we're incredible excited to bring him back home." 

Roberts was selected from a field of nearly 40 applicants. Over the past two months, the Recreation Commission has been working to consider the field and interviewed a number of internal and external candidates for the position. Former department director Caitlin Sharpe resigned earlier this summer to pursue a teaching position at Jacksonville State University. Will Chappell has led the department as interim director in the months since her departure.  

Under Georgia state law, the City must now observe a 14-day waiting period after the Council's vote before officially hiring Roberts for the director position. 

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