Catherine Ann Jordan, director of Arts, Parks and Recreation, led a tour of Athens parks describing amenities and access at multiple city sites and providing contact and reservation information for users. "This is where you'll find the community center and the Athens City pool," Jordan said, describing facilities at East State Street Park including playgrounds, courts and gardens.

The overview matters because the facilities support recreation and community programs across neighborhoods and include features intended for broad access, such as inclusive playgrounds, ADA pathways and free courts. Jordan also explained rules and reservation options for shelter houses and sports fields, and gave the department's contact information for reservations.

At East State Street Park, Jordan said visitors will find the community center, the Athens City pool, a playground for 5- to 12-year-olds, a preschool playground, four outdoor pickleball courts that are free and open to use, a skate park, two tennis courts, multiple gardens including the East Side Community Food Initiatives Garden, two dog parks and an 18-hole disc golf course. "Our pickleball courts, our basketball courts, and our skate park are all lighted until about 11PM at night," she said.

Jordan described Sells Park as accessible from the end of Avon Place with an ADA path to the pond, where people can picnic and fish, and a storybook trail maintained in partnership with the Athens County Public Library System. She noted trails at Sells Park connect to Stroud's Run State Park and support hiking, running and mountain biking.

Veil Park, Jordan said, is open year-round for daytime and nighttime hiking. At Highland Park off Highland Avenue, she described an inclusive playground, shelter house, a small basketball court, restrooms and green space; she said the shelter house "you can use it for free as long as nobody else has a reservation" and may be reserved for $30 a day.

At West State Street Park, Jordan listed several ball fields, two shelter houses, playground areas, restrooms, a bikeway, the West Side community gardens, soccer fields and a dog park with water features. She said sport fields are available for public use when not reserved and gave the department's reservation contacts for leagues or private events.

Richland Avenue Park includes inclusive playgrounds for all ages, shelter houses, restrooms and a story walk trail; Jordan said another nearby site on Dairy Lane has a shelter house, a mini golf course and sport fields accessible from the Richland Avenue Roundabout or the bike path. Camp Rotan, Jordan said, has about a half-mile trail with a creek, a natural spring, scout-built projects, an old cabin and a self-guided nature trail; its kiosk is at the Longview Heights Road entrance and the site is open dawn to dusk.

For reservations and more information, Jordan provided the department contact and phone number: athensapr.com and (740) 592-3325. The presentation was informational and no formal actions, votes or policy changes were discussed.