City Parks and Recreation staff told the Public Safety & Neighborhood Quality of Life Committee on Sept. 9 that a pilot reservation program for neighborhood tennis courts has increased public access, reduced unauthorized for-profit lessons and allowed the city to vet instructors through background checks.

Staff said the pilot kept at least one court available for first-come, first-served use while enabling residents to reserve time on other courts and to take lessons from vetted instructors. Parks staff reported high resident satisfaction during the pilot and recommended making the system permanent and extending it to the six new courts at Bayshore Park. The department also recommended selecting current partners — Miami Beach Tennis Center and Van Dalen Tennis LLC — to manage the reservation and instructor oversight, citing existing relationships with Miami Beach Senior High teams.

Commissioners asked whether administration or Parks would run contractor agreements; staff said permanent status would be implemented as an amendment to existing contractor agreements and as a separate commission item for contract authorization. Commissioners expressed general support and moved the item forward for full commission consideration.

Takeaway: The committee supported moving forward to make the pilot permanent and to include Bayshore Park courts under contractor oversight; staff will present contract amendments at the Commission for authorization.