Grant to refurbish outdoor sports area
MEXICO BEACH - Mexico Beach's only public basketball and tennis courts will be rebuilt with an increasingly unlikely and scarce resource: state grant money.
State Sen. Don Gaetz, R-Niceville, and Rep. Jimmy Patronis, R-Panama City, will appear at the 4 p.m. Mexico Beach City Council meeting today to present a 75/25 percent matching grant for $76,281. The city will contribute $25,427.
"City Administrator Chris Hubbard and Mayor Al Cathey worked hard to prepare an application for a highly competitive grant, when very little money was available. They did the heavy lifting," Gaetz said.
The money comes from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection's Florida Recreation Development Assistance Grant. Mexico Beach is the only Bay County city to receive those non-recurring funds this year.
Gaetz and Patronis pushed for the allocation of funds in their respective chambers.
"I know how committed Mexico Beach is to improving facilities for family recreation," Gaetz said.
Patronis was not available for comment, but Gaetz stressed the importance of having an advocate in the state House.
"Rep. Patronis is a great partner, and I'm honored to join him in representing Bay County," Gaetz said. "Thanks to Rep. Patronis' support in the House, we were able to secure funding that includes this grant to help improve sports and recreation facilities in Mexico Beach."
The mayor said the tennis and basketball courts, located at the city's municipal park at 20th Street and Paradise Cove Boulevard, are used daily. He said they have deteriorated significantly since they were built in 1984.
"We're going to add some new lighting and fencing," he said.
The design work is complete, but the project must be bid out. Cathey said the courts will be gutted and re-based and resurfaced, but he expects it can be finished later this year.