Commissioners press parks staff over limited public access at Regional Sports Complex

Several commissioners raised constituent complaints that Clay County's new Regional Sports Complex appears closed to the public during much of the week.

Commissioner Condon described repeated public inquiries and said she could not support further spending on a park perceived as unavailable to taxpayers. Parks director Justin Pierce and assistant county manager Charlie Latham said the facility currently protects fields for tournaments and maintenance and operates gates 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. to allow maintenance access while preventing unauthorized team practices that could damage turf.

Pierce said staff will install a pedestrian access gate and change signage to "dawn to dusk" so residents may walk the trail and use passive amenities outside scheduled events. "We're going to install pet waste stations along the stabilized areas' and the entrance," Pierce said, and staff will add signage and online messaging to clarify public access.

Parks staff also said they will pilot measures to monitor field recovery after events; they cited a recent tournament that initially stressed turf but recovered over two weeks. The department said some security measures (locked vehicle gates) are necessary to protect a multi-million-dollar investment and maintain liability controls for organized events. Staff agreed to proceed with a pedestrian gate, signage update and to publicize access changes quickly.

No formal vote was taken; the board asked staff to implement pedestrian access, update signage and report back on use and field recovery metrics.