>> BALDWIN COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
The Baldwin County Board of Commissioners will be presented a proposal that constitutes a public-private agreement at its meeting on Tuesday.
County Manager Carlos Tobar said this past Tuesday morning that he had obtained estimates to completely redo the existing tennis courts at the county’s recreation complex. That work would include tearing out the existing courts and replacing them with a suitable base beneath the playing surface.
The original plan called for only resurfacing and restriping for $80,000. The revised estimated price is approximately $120,000, Tobar said. Of that, $40,000 would come from monies collected by the Milledgeville Pickleball Club (MPC). The balance would be paid with SPLOST funds.
“We looked at several options,” Tobar said. “We want something that will last long-term. We don’t want a quick fix out there. There is no base there now. We want something that will last for decades and have minimal maintenance.”
The plan is for two of the four tennis courts to remain available for that sport, and the other two converted into courts dedicated to pickleball only. There has been no public announcement as to how many pickleball courts could or would be created in the space of the two now available for tennis.
If the commissioners approve the project, work would start in January, Tobar said. With anticipated cold and wet conditions that time of the year, no anticipated completion date has been discussed, he said.
MPC is a non-profit corporation that began its fundraising efforts to help pay for improvements to the existing pickleball courts across from the ones now lined for tennis play. However, the plan was to seek funding to do both sets of courts.
The eight courts currently used for pickleball are in worse condition with more cracks and safety issues, but the revised plan will create somewhere between eight and 12 new courts dedicated for that sport.
MPC also submitted a proposal to the Board of Commissioners that would have given that entity control of scheduling and use of the courts. However, commissioners at an Oct. 3 work session expressed opposition to any private entity being in charge of the county facility.
Tobar confirmed Monday afternoon there are no plans on the part of the board to approve any agreement that would take scheduling authority from the county’s recreation department.
“The commissioners said at the work session they wanted it to remain a public facility, and that’s what we’re doing,” the county manager said. “No agreements with anybody. We’re going to continue operating the pickleball courts the way we’ve been doing it.”
According to the official minutes of that Oct. 3 meeting, Commissioners Henry Craig and Sammy Hall specifically said they opposed any private entity having control and that all activities should continue to be scheduled by the county’s recreation department. Commissioner Johnny Westmoreland agreed to the extent of saying everyone should be allowed access to county facilities.
There has been much discussion recently in the tennis and pickleball community as to what may or may not be in the works regarding the courts. District 3 commissioner Sammy Hall said this past Tuesday morning nothing has been authorized at this point.
“There seems to be some assumptions made that there was an approved plan,” Hall said. “The commission has not taken any action to approve any plan for the pickleball courts at this time. I expect that it might be on our next meeting agenda.”
Tobar confirmed later that morning that the matter had been placed on the agenda for the Dec. 5 meeting at 6 p.m.
Craig and Commission chair Emily Davis declined comment that afternoon, noting that the proposal would be discussed Tuesday.