Commissioners took the first step toward reviving the county’s recreation advisory board, despite words of caution from county attorney Franklin Rozier Jr.
Commissioners approved the creation of the board at a called meeting last Tuesday night.
The board will have five members with the general consensus that one member will be appointed by the commissioner from each district and one at-large member appointed by County Chairman Neal Bennett. A county commissioner will also serve as an ex-officio member.
The members will serve staggered terms and the ordinance also allows for a majority vote of the board to remove a member with the county commission’s approval. Board members will not be paid for their service.
Once established, the recreation board would approve its own bylaws.
There is no timeline for when the board will be operational.
The commission agreed to resurrect the board at its August meeting after local attorney Johnny Thigpen Jr. requested it be done.
Thigpen, who has children in the recreation program, presented the final proposal to the commission, separate from a proposal already reviewed by Rozier.
Rozier said the one he proposed was one he believed he could legally defend in court. He said he reviewed Thigpen’s proposal, but did not fully endorse it. He told commissioners it was their decision.
“I don’t make policy, but personally, I will tell you that when the commissioners abolished the recreation board 10 years ago that was one of the best things they ever did,” he said. “(The recreation board) was the biggest bunch of aggravation I’ve ever seen.”
Rozier pointed out that county governments are not constitutionally mandated to provide recreation for their citizens.
“It is discretionary spending,” he said. “I think we should have a recreation department, but not a recreation board.”
Commissioners abolished the recreation board in 2011 after the City of Blackshear withdrew from a jointly operated recreation department.
The recreation board at that time had the right to hire and fire and make binding personnel, operational and regulatory decisions.
Even then, the board went through eight recreation directors in 10 years and held hours long meetings, including many featuring long closed sessions.
Thigpen and third district Commissioner Randy Dixon objected to Rozier’s comments.
“If you are not for the kids of this county, then you need to resign your post,” Thigpen said.
Dixon told Rozier the commission was going to do what was best for the kids and was going to approve the recreation board.
Thipgen has stressed the need for a recreation board — to include parents of children participating in the recreation department’s programs. He asked that the board answer directly to the county commission and bypass County Manager Jason Rubenbauer.
Thigpen said the committee should have a leading role in the hiring of a new director.
Rubenbauer has hired the last three recreation directors. The longest tenure among them has been the most recent director, Will Watson. Watson resigned in July citing the need to take care of his ailing father. The county is currently seeking applicants for a new director of the department, but the position has still not been filled.
