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Hardee County School District reports tennis court completion and pool renovation progress at recreational complex
Summary
School district officials updated the board: tennis-court resurfacing, drainage and fencing are complete and a new locker-room/storage building is awaiting engineer sign-off; Carlton Recreational Complex pool renovations expanded deck and restrooms, but larger resurfacing and heating remain unfunded.
Hardee County School District representatives told the EDA the tennis court project at Oak Street is essentially complete and the last remaining work is final engineer certification for a locker room, bathrooms and a storage facility that must be approved to receive a certificate of occupancy.
Rob Crowell, representing the district, said the resurfacing, drainage improvements and fencing are finished; work on the main court included drainage and resurfacing, while the practice court was completely rebuilt. Crowell said the building construction is complete and the district is awaiting an engineer's life-safety certification before the county issues certificate-of-occupancy paperwork. "This should be complete this week or next," Crowell said, referring to the certification process.
The board also heard from Meredith Dirdestani on the Mildred and Dole Carlton Hardee County Recreational Complex renovation. Dirdestani said the district originally sought more extensive renovations in a 2019 grant—pool expansion, new playground, new basketball courts and removal of the racquetball court—but limited funding narrowed the scope to pool renovations and site improvements. The contractor RADA Construction delivered a revised contract to complete the pool-area work for $655,627.66; the district reported it came in under that number by about $57,000 and has approximately $48,000 remaining from grant proceeds that can be used for outstanding items such as epoxy perimeter work (quoted at about $18,000) and other repairs.
Dirdestani outlined remaining work: epoxy coating around pool entrances, inside-tile work for the pool interior (a full resurface was estimated informally at $60,000—70,000), concession-stand repairs after tile-floor damage, and replacement or repair of hurricane-damaged bleachers (an initial quote for new bleachers exceeded $60,000). She said ADA-compliant sidewalk changes and new lighting were completed, two pool pumps were added and other site improvements were installed; swim lessons were scheduled to begin May 12.
On operations, the district said the interlocal agreement (signed in 2021, five-year term) assigns maintenance and program responsibilities: the school board handles facility maintenance, the county holds property insurance and handles roadwork, and the three municipalities share funding for the recreation complex. The district also receives operating revenue from open swim fees and swim-lesson fees but acknowledges most maintenance funding comes from general budgets.
