Mayor’s Message January 2024

January 2024

Happy New Year!  I hope you have been enjoying the holidays.  As we conclude this second year of this city council’s term, I am once again proud of our work towards our strategic goals in 2023. Here is a progress report on those items and where they stand. 

Town Center 

The City Council continued to implement projects that will foster the creation of the Town Center area.  Engineering of the Pedestrian Tunnel has begun for the connection under Medlock Bridge to the Town Center.  City Council also approved intersection improvements at key gateways into the future Medley development to keep traffic flowing as our Town Center becomes a reality. 

Economic Development 

2023 saw Johns Creek continue our momentum as a city of health, wellness, and innovation.  We became the first municipality ever in Georgia to be designated as a BioReady Community, which means Johns Creek is uniquely capable of meeting the needs of life science companies seeking redevelopment, renovation, or new construction for biotech facilities.   

To this end, Boston Scientific broke ground on its facility in the Town Center, and Mizuno Golf broke ground on a research and development center. Our team continues to work to attract quality capital investments across our City. 

Creekside Park 

A focal point of the Town Center is Creekside Park, the area behind City Hall that will be the vibrant civic hub for our community.  This project is full steam ahead with funding already set aside and the significant hurdle of environmental permits overcome. The project will be put out to bid for construction in the first quarter of 2024. We anticipate awarding a construction contract in the summer.  

Green Communities 

Our city government is pursuing sustainability where it makes environmental AND financial sense.  Building on the success of the glass recycling program started last year, the Council made its commitment to the Atlanta Regional Commission’s (ARC) Green Communities certification.  Council approved a pilot program with Forsyth County for Johns Creek residents to utilize their various recycling centers. 

To reduce the City’s plastic waste, Johns Creek partnered with a local brewery to can their purified water, aka “Creekwater”, in recyclable aluminum as an alternative to plastic bottled water. The next step in our sustainability efforts is to become an official part of Tree City USA, affirming our commitment to the importance of trees in our city. 
Recreation and Parks 

City Council established Recreation & Parks as its own department this summer; additionally, we celebrated the opening of the 203-acre Cauley Creek Park. The park, which includes a mixture of passive and active areas, is home to the newly-opened Rogers Bridge pedestrian connection over the Chattahoochee River and a public art installation made of steel from the previous historic bridge.  To continue our focus on building greater community, we have continued our shift to resident volunteers driving our community events to reach more residents, especially our families with children, with bigger and better annual traditions than ever before.  

As we look forward to the new year, I’m confident that we will continue to stay focused on what is best for our community’s future. I know that our city will continue to deliver high-quality services and amenities that both increase our quality of life and bring value to our community’s residents and businesses.   

I wish you and yours much happiness and continued success for our Johns Creek community in 2024! 

John Bradberry, Mayor 
City of Johns Creek