Johns Creek Mayor Mike Bodker (right) greets his counterpart from the Japanese city of Kasai, Chozo Nakagawa.

Mayor Nakagawa was with a group of city representatives, university officials from the University of Toyo and Japanese graduate students visiting Johns Creek. The group was studying Johns Creek's public-private partnership with CH2M Hill in which the company manages the City's general government services, including public works, community development and administrative services.

Mayor Bodker and the City Council are beginning work in earnest on the Fiscal Year 2009 budget. (The City's fiscal year runs from October 1 to September 30.)

Throughout June and July, department heads developed their budget and Capital Improvement Project (CIP) proposals, reviewed them with Finance Director Monte Vavra and submitted them to City Manager John Kachmar, who is then responsible for presentation of the proposed budget to Mayor and Council. The timeline from here:

• Aug. 25:  Proposed budget/CIP presented to Mayor and Council
• Aug. 26:  Proposed budget/CIP available for public inspection
• Sept. 8:   First Reading of Budget Ordinance and first Public Hearing
• Sept. 15:  Budget discussion with Mayor and Council
• Sept. 22:  Second Reading, second Public Hearing and adoption

New City & Community Calendar

We're pleased to announce a new online calendar featuring both City AND community activities. Look for this calendar icon in the upper left corner on Home.

You can find Council, board & committee meetings, community events, library & arts programs, park happenings and more, with links to RSS feeds and reminders to really keep you up to date.

On July 26 Johns Creek became the first city in Georgia to receive American Heart Association's "Heart Ready City" award recognizing City efforts to place automated external defibrillators in all of the City patrol cars and provide community-wide training in CPR and AEDs.

According to 2008 AHA statistics, every 26 seconds an American has a coronary incident and every 60 seconds someone dies from one. The use of an AED - which sends an electric shock to the heart and restores heart rhythm to normal levels - greatly increases the chance of survival.

To further enhance the City's plan to be "Heart Ready," the AHA donated six AEDs for use in JC parks, Municipal Court and City Hall. The training program is made possible through a joint venture of the Johns Creek Fire Department, the AHA and Emory Johns Creek Hospital. Read more.

Learn how the City of Johns Creek came to be, meet the people who run your City, and find out what they do for you each day. All this and more will be part of "Johns Creek 101," a free, four-class series presented by the Greater North Fulton Chamber of Commerce and the City.

Classes are open to all Johns Creek residents and business owners. They take place on four Tuesdays in September, from 9:30 am until noon. Class size is limited to 45. For more information and to register on-line, visit the Chamber Web site. See the City's calendar for more detailed location information:

• Sept. 9:  History of Johns Creek and partnership with CH2M Hill, Johns Creek City Hall
• Sept. 16:  Community Development and Public Works, Emory Johns Creek Hospital
• Sept. 23:  City Administration and Finances, Fire Station #20
• Sept. 30:  Police and Fire, NE Spruill Oaks Library

Break out the bats, balls and gloves for the City's new Fall Co-Ed Adult Softball League! Registration runs through August 15 and is limited to the first eight teams, with a fee of $450 per team.

Games will be played Tuesday nights at 6, 7, 8 and 9 pm (one hour time limit) from September 9 through November 4 at Ocee Park. The season includes seven regular season games and a single elimination tournament. Teams must provide their own jerseys and game balls.

Download a registration form or contact Sunnie Roth, Recreation Program Coordinator, at Sunnie.Roth@JohnsCreekGA.gov or call 678-512-3256. More information.

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Two art projects donated to the Georgia Aquarium by the Johns Creek (formerly Ocee) Arts Center Visual Arts Camp went on display in the Georgia Aquarium's Learning Loop on August 5: an 11-foot long beluga whale and a 6-foot long bow mouth guitarfish.

500 children, in grades pre-K through fifth, spent six weeks working on the two paper mache sculptures in the camp's "collaborative" classroom.

For more info, contact the Johns Creek Arts Center at 770-623-8448.

Johns Creek youngsters competed at the Georgia Swim Association State Championship meet July 25-26 at the Augusta Aquatic Center, bringing home medals in 29 individual events and 13 relays.

Previously these swimmers had to end their season at the Fulton County meet in June. Unincorporated Fulton County had no local sponsor to allow them to advance to the state level. That ended this year when the Johns Creek Recreation and Parks Division gave the swimmers the opportunity to compete at the state level.

"I am really impressed with these young athletes," said Mayor Mike Bodker. "They obviously really put their hearts into swimming for their hometown." Read more.

CCS, Inc. (Comprehensive Counseling Solutions) provides therapeutic foster care for children who have been abused, neglected, bounced around too much or have special needs. The three vans that transport them every week are on their last legs (or tires). So the need is greater than ever before.

On Saturday, October 11th, Northview and Chattahoochee High Schools will join forces to benefit these children. "Walk for Hope" includes a Walk-A-Thon from 11 am to 5:30 pm, Taste of Johns Creek from 5-7 pm, a concert from 7-10 pm, a "Village Market," rides, games and more.

• Aug. 17:  Johns Creek Invitational Drum and Bugle Corps show
  Sunday, August 17, 6 pm, Chattahoochee High School, with performing groups from six states. Read more.

• Aug. 30-31:  Arts on the Creek
  Saturday and Sunday, August 30-31 at Johns Creek United Methodist Church. A great addition to the Labor Day weekend: an arts and music festival, free and open to the public. Read more.

• Sept. 13:  Fall Family Festival
  Saturday, September 13, 10 am-3 pm in Newtown Park. Celebrate the start of the fall season: Moonwalks, carnival games, arts & crafts, music, food and fun for the entire family!

• Oct. 4:  Movies in the Park - "Space Chimps"
  Saturday, October 4, in Newtown Park. Pre-movie entertainment begins at 6 pm. Movie starts at approx. 7:30 pm.

Local businesses or organizations interested in participating in either the Fall Family Festival or Movies in the Park should contact Sunnie Roth, Recreation Program Coordinator at Sunnie.Roth@JohnsCreekGA.gov or call 678-512-3200.

Johns Creek City Hall, Municipal Court and Police Department administrative offices will be closed Monday, September 1 for Labor Day.