(The Pierce County Recreation Board discussed and/or voted on the following during their monthly meeting Tuesday, August 13. The meeting was delayed a week due to Hurricane “Debby”.)
Fall sports: Recreation Director Maureen Brown gave a report on fall sports programs. Sign ups have just been completed and evaluations for teams and scheduling for games are underway. Coach Brown reported 119 signed up for football, 36 for cheerleading, 129 for soccer and 61 for volleyball. Coach Brown reported the soccer and volleyball programs have experienced growth this year. She told board members KellyAnn Williams of Southern Storm AllStars in Blackshear would provide training for the cheerleaders. Coach Brown said football, soccer, volleyball and cheerleading are all slated to begin games/matches September 10. She reported all sports passes are now on sale at the recreation department.
Facilities: Recreation director Brown gave an update on the facilities. She reported the fields had to be extensively reworked but held up well in the torrential rains from Hurricane “Debby”. Coach Brown also said security cameras are now in place at the recreation department, and all are operational except for the ones at the batting cage. A part is needed to bring those online and should be in place shortly. Board chairman Johnny Thigpen Jr. and board member Brad Arington lamented the lack of practice fields and facilities to accommodate the number of participants and teams the department has playing sports this fall.
Public comment: Phillip Shabott came before the board to complain about not having access to facilities to play baseball with his sons. Shabott said he came to the recreation fields on Ware Street and they were locked. He said he called Coach Brown and was denied access to the Ware Street fields but was offered use of the batting cages or the fields in Patterson. Shabott complained about high grass, unkempt fields and numerous wasp nests at Patterson. Coach Brown explained the fields at Ware Street had just been sanded and the only other one available had already been reserved. She said that’s why she offered Shabott use of the cages or the fields at Patterson. Recreation groundskeeper Derrail Moore said he and Brown had to set up for senior bingo and football evaluations and he had not had a chance to mow and perform maintenance at Patterson. He also pointed out the department is short-staffed and it rained 10 inches the week before. Board Chairman Thigpen said he wanted all fields to be unlocked and accessible to the taxpayers at all times. Third district commissioner Randy Dixon, an ex-officio member of the rec board, said Thigpen’s position was not possible from a safety and security standpoint. Thigpen said the newly installed cameras would settle the security concerns. Arington and Thigpen thanked Shabott for sharing his concerns and assured him they would be addressed.
Next meeting: The next monthly meeting will be held at 8 a.m. Tuesday, September 2, at the Southeast Georgia Regional Agriculture Center (SEGARAC) on College Avenue.
