Commissioners discuss $2.2M sports‑field turf proposal, approve six pickleball courts and tighten rental rules

Chambers County Commissioners on June 10 heard a long presentation on a proposed turf infield project for the county sports complex, approved construction of six pickleball courts at Beach City Park, and voted to change rental and cleaning policies for county community buildings.

County staff and vendor representatives said the turf infield plan is intended to reduce rainouts and maintenance, keep tournaments in county and preserve lost revenue from canceled games. The presenter cited multiple recent rainouts and said turf infields allow play to resume more quickly after storms. The full project cost was discussed on the record as roughly $2.24 million; an optional Velcro insert system for batter’s boxes and pitching lanes was presented as an alternate add of about $150,000 to facilitate quicker field repairs.

The court did not take final action on the turf infield at Tuesday’s meeting; staff said the agenda contained an incorrect dollar amount and that the item would return with corrected figures and an implementation plan for public access, supervision and maintenance.

On a separate item the court approved a motion to construct six new pickleball courts at Beach City Park using a BuyBoard vendor (KMI) with a presented price of about $371,000 for the six courts. County staff said alternative bids for four or 12 courts are being gathered and that available project‑balance estimates will be provided to the court before proceeding with related parking and restroom work.

The court also approved multiple changes to rental, cleaning and monitoring of county community buildings (West Side complex, Whites Park and the Winnie community building). Under the approved changes: a mandatory third‑party or county cleaning fee was proposed as a one‑time per‑event charge (staff presented $600 as a likely figure, with $500 allocated to on‑site staff and $100 to county overhead); county employees will receive one half‑price rental per year at the two largest buildings; 501(c)(3) entities will receive reduced fees rather than automatic free rentals; and the county will implement a building‑monitor role to open, close and inspect facilities for damage and rule compliance.

Staff told the court they will include enforceable minimum renter obligations in the rules (for example, removing trash and clearing tables), expand signage and consider cameras and other enforcement tools at high‑use sites. Commissioners asked staff to return with a written implementation plan that details how staff will manage public access, staffing costs for monitors during tournaments, and enforcement for prohibited items such as metal cleats, gum and sunflower seeds.