After parking-lot incidents, sheriff to staff deputies at Collins P. Lee recreation complex; gym hours extended to 8 p.m.

Baldwin County commissioners and the Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office announced a stepped-up law-enforcement presence at the Collins P. Lee recreation complex after multiple parking-lot incidents led county managers to shorten gym hours earlier this year.

County manager Carlos Tobar said an incident last year and another this year — which he described in the meeting as a young person struck in the parking area — prompted staff to temporarily end gym access at 4:30 p.m. and seek sheriff’s office support. “We had an incident. . . I think at that time is when we, we said we were gonna shut it down at 04:30,” Tobar said.

Colonel Scott Deason, chief deputy of the Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office, told commissioners he has placed deputies at the complex during evening peak hours. “I myself sat there from 5 to 8. I’ve got deputies there Monday through Friday from 5PM to 8PM in the parking lot,” Deason said, adding deputies will focus on parking-lot traffic, potential narcotics use and deterrence rather than policing activity inside the gym.

Deason said deputies would expand coverage beginning the upcoming softball and baseball season, noting: “Beginning Monday, the fourteenth is softball and baseball season. We will have a deputy at the lower fields, a deputy at the upper fields, and a deputy in the parking lot at the gym.”

The board also discussed imposing a requirement that any third-party rental of county recreation facilities include a deputy presence as a condition of approval, with the renter paying the associated deputy cost. That condition was suggested by Deason and discussed favorably by commissioners, but no formal ordinance or board vote was taken that night. The sheriff’s office also said Baldwin County will handle criminal investigations that occur on county property rather than relying on the city police to take primary responsibility.

Public speakers urged swift, visible action. James Hicks, a coach who uses the lower gym, said parents and coaches have repeatedly requested traffic control at the site and said moving games to other venues is costly and unsafe for players. “They closed the gym down last year for, what, almost a month and a half. We had to go to Tree Talk, Georgia College West Campus, and we all know if you are a athlete playing on outside courts, you are bound to get injured,” Hicks said.

Other speakers and commissioners urged alternatives including private security and better communication with the public when county facilities change hours. Commissioner Maurice Liggins said the incident response and communications “look like one person is doing something” without the rest of the commission being informed; he urged the board to add procedures to ensure commissioners and the public are notified promptly when county facilities close or hours change.

Why it matters: The recreation complex is a widely used county facility; deputies stationed in the parking lot are intended to reduce unsafe driving, curb drug activity and prevent incidents that previously prompted temporary closures.

What happens next: Deputies will continue to staff the complex Monday–Friday 5–8 p.m.; additional deputies will be assigned to fields for ball seasons. Staff will return with any proposals for formal rental requirements or ordinances related to firearms and facility security.