Boone Park has the city's largest tennis complex, with 14 clay courts, two hard courts, two beat walls, and lights for night play. Anyone who's ever played there knows it's a terrific neighborhood resource, and also incredibly cheap, with court rentals available for just a few dollars an hour, and an annual family membership of $175. It's utilized by some 3,000 players of all ages each month.With the city facing a tough budget year, however, the Mayor is floating a plan to privatize the facility, as well as the San Marco Tennis Complex; he's looking for a public-private partnership to stretch city dollars for better services. Opponents of the plan worry that a private entity will do little more than jack up fees, without addressing necessary improvements. The City is hosting a meeting to discuss its proposal with interested parties; the date is April 6th at 6 pm in the Lynwood Roberts Room at City Hall.
Image courtesy of Waymarking.
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Here's what I emailed Councilman Corrigan this morning:
Dear Councilman Corrigan,
My two children have just started taking tennis lessons up at the beautiful tennis facility at Boone Park. It's a real feather in Jacksonville's cap that our city possesses such an outstanding public tennis facility, and that it can boast of providing
250 days of free tennis instruction a year. Coach Robert, who helps run the free tennis clinic, is justifiably proud that fully eleven of the #1-ranked tennis players at area schools have come through his program, and that more than 100 of his players have gone on to earn scholarships because of their tennis skills.
I have some deep reservations about the City's proposal to privatize this facility and the one in San Marco. I recognize the proposal offers some cost savings for the City, but I also worry that such a
change will come at significant cost to those students who use the facility on a regular basis and could not otherwise afford to learn this lifelong sport. Of course a profit-driven private company will insist on higher court fees, but I fear they also will restrict the community-minded efforts of people like Coach Robert, who presently has open access at the facility.
As you formulate your own opinions about the plan, please keep these
concerns in mind.
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