Tennis players: Keep the fence up

Plans to raze the tennis courts at Hernando Park has one group ready to make a racket at the next county commission meeting.

Betty Dobson, who's part of a local tennis club, said she and roughly 30 other women are opposing plans to tear down the fence surrounding the park tennis court for the Blueberry Festival slated in May.

She said members of her tennis group learned of the plans from the Brooksville Vision Foundation, which is also working on an agreement for the city to garner ownership of its parks from the county.

"This is basically going to destroy us," Dobson said. "We have to have four courts in order for us to have a league. And they don't realize that the high school uses those courts as well. You also have two to three different instructors that teach there along with being used by some of the recreation departments.

"Once they tear down those courts, it's unlikely they'll put them back anytime soon, if at all."

Sonny Vergara, a vision foundation member, said no plans have been finalized, but added that members have discussed removing the fences and decorating the park area in preparation for the Blueberry Festival, which is slated for May 4-6.

He added that it's unknown whether the courts would be put back once they were taken down.

"In order to make this event successful, we need certain venues and the park can be a central hub for that," Vergara said. "We would need to take down the fences so that we can make it easier for people to utilize the park for events."

With the festival roughly two months away, he added it's important to move quickly.

Joe Johansen, 80, plays tennis at Hernando Park twice a week and credits the sport for keeping him fit.

He had not heard about plans to take down the fence or the Blueberry Festival. He understands the reasoning and would be forced to find elsewhere to play.

"I think it would be a tremendous loss," Johansen said. "But if the city's going to make money, that's the name of the game."

Jack Henn, 60, said it would be difficult, if not impossible, to play tennis without the surrounding fence.

Henn, who also visits Hernando Park twice a week to play at the courts, said his 85-year-old father and his friends routinely play at the downtown Brooksville site.

"I think it would be a real loss for the city," said Henn, who winters here from Michigan. "It's a place to exercise, a place to stay fit.

"I don't know what they'd do without it."

Henn said the proposed Blueberry Festival lasts for a weekend, while the tennis courts provide pleasure to residents year-round.

County Commissioner John Druzbick said this whole discussion occurred last year when the county had proposed possibly closing some parks because of budget concerns. There was some talk about the city taking over Hernando Park, site of the tennis courts.

As of today, nothing ever came of those talks and there is no staff proposal that has come across his desk, Druzbick said.

But this much Druzbick knows: as long as that park remains in county hands, the fences stay up.

"Our staff won't allow them to take fences down from the tennis courts and make them useless," he said.

If the city ever does take over ownership of the park, the ball would be in the city council's court and the fate of the fences would rest the council members, he said.

However, Dobson said before parks might be given over to the city, she's asking county officials to put in a stipulation that the courts aren't taken down until new ones are created at an alternate location.

"It's their decision, but we're going to fight all the way on this," Dobson said.