By Tamas Mondovics
After 30 minutes of waiting and no one showing up, County officials decided to pack up and end the scheduled public meeting in connection with the proposed amenity use changes at North Brandon Sports Complex at 3909 S. Kingsway Rd.
The Hillsborough County Parks, Recreation and Conservation Department scheduled the public meeting for Tuesday, August 12 at the Brandon Recreation Center located at 502 Sadie St. in Brandon to discuss, seek input and answer questions from residents of the proposed project, which includes expanding the parking and football practice areas at the cost of eliminating the existing tennis courts.
According to officials, the North Brandon Park Renovation project was initially funded in 2012 for renovations to existing facilities at North Brandon Park.
Of the $200,000 funded, $46,000 remains, which according to County officials needs to be retained for the project by Tuesday, September 30.
The Athletic Association who holds the use agreement for the park has requested the removal of the tennis courts for expanded parking and practice area.
However, before permanent removal of a park amenity, a public meeting must be held to address the needs and concerns of the neighborhood.
Brandon area resident Bret Berdy, who frequently visits the North Brandon Complex and takes advantage of the tennis courts, is not surprised about the County’s proposed plans to remove the courts, but is disappointed that the county has no plans to replace them.
“I use these courts as an overflow when the Sadie Street Park is full,” Berdy said, but added, “Football and baseball rule around here and nobody seems to really care about these two poorly maintained courts, so I am not surprised that they want to get rid of them.”
If things go as planned, construction is scheduled to be complete by December 2014 with no forcible impact to the surrounding area.
For more information about this project, visit the Project page on the County’s Website at www.HillsboroughCounty.org/CountyProjects and click on the Building Projects link.
For more information, call Steve Valdez, Citizen Engagement Manager at 272-5275.
