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Work begins on overdue racquetball courts
By DAN DeWITT BROOKSVILLE -- The city of Brooksville is finally getting around to a project it has planned ever since the Quarry Golf Course opened in December 1996 -- building new racquetball courts. For more than five years, players have encountered an unsightly obstacle on the golf course, which is owned by the city -- the green stucco exterior of the courts, which extend into the fairway of the first hole. For all that time, parks and recreation director David Pugh has vowed to tear down the courts and build them elsewhere. "We initially wanted to build the new ones so we could move the old ones off the Quarry," Pugh said. "Aesthetically, it didn't coincide with the golf course." The possibility of golf balls bouncing off the exterior wall of the courts also poses a safety hazard, Pugh said. Work on new courts has now begun and is expected to be completed sometime this summer, Pugh said. The work was delayed by the same factors that have delayed other improvements at Tom Varn Park -- money and staff time. "We're so small, and we've had so many projects we're working on," Pugh said. In the past five years, projects at the park have included the girls softball stadium, the Jerome Brown Community Center and an adult softball complex. It takes time to complete jobs because the city often uses volunteer and city labor, Pugh said. "A lot of the work falls on the Public Works Department," he said. The new courts will be part of $150,000 worth of improvements at the park funded mostly by a state recreation grant. The city received the grant in August 2000, and must complete the work by Aug. 31 of this year. The amount includes $37,500 in matching funds from the city. City workers will make improvements to a softball field south of the softball stadium, including new lights, dugouts, fences and bleachers. They will also improve nearby restrooms and build a walking path from the parking lot to the field. A private contractor, R.A. Schweikert Inc. of Inverness, will demolish the old racquetball courts and build the new ones for $82,000. The courts will be next to the refurbished softball field and the Quarry driving range. The company was also responsible for some of the delay. It was originally awarded the contract in January, but could not get the bonding that insures the work and payments to subcontractors. The city advertised for other contractors to do the job, but received no inquiries, said city clerk Karen Phillips. In the meantime, Schweikert was approved for bonding and was hired for the work. The result should please not only golfers, but also racquetball players, Pugh said. The old location was in a shadeless area between the first fairway and the Quarry parking lot. The new courts will be near restrooms, shade trees and water fountains, he said. "This is going to be a far better location," Pugh said. -- Dan DeWitt covers the city of Brooksville, politics and the environment. He can be reached at 754-6116. Send e-mail to dewitt@sptimes.com.
 © 2006 • All Rights Reserved • St. Petersburg Times
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