Residents and coaches press Walton County for more fields, better maintenance and funding ahead of July budget

Walton County officials and residents on Thursday debated how to address a countywide shortage of sports fields and mounting maintenance needs, with community members pressing commissioners to fund new facilities and operational support during the July budget process.

Mike Thornton, deputy county administrator, opened the public workshop by laying out an inventory that divides county facilities into North (Paxton, DeFuniak), Central (Freeport) and South (south of the bay). Thornton said Walton County currently lists 23 diamond (baseball/softball/tee ball) fields — 18 of which the county owns or maintains — and 13 multipurpose fields (11 county-owned). He told the room the counts were benchmarked to National Recreation and Park Association guidance for an assumed population of about 90,000.

Why it matters: Coaches and parents told officials fields are overused, leading to unsafe or unusable turf and frequent repairs. Eric Sconyers, a Walton Rec soccer coach, described frayed goals, exposed netting and safety hazards at We Care Park and urged simple maintenance fixes and modest investments such as a robotic field painter and an additional bathroom pavilion at the back fields. “They got these robots that will paint the fields for you,” Sconyers said, and he added that worn nets and limited restroom access have caused safety and supervision concerns.

Several speakers tied facility shortages to lost local economic opportunity. Derek Bumpers, a Freeport elementary PE coach, said Walton County sends tournament revenue elsewhere because local teams travel for games. “So you look at these dollars that are constantly flying out,” Bumpers said, urging a tournament-capable complex as a way to keep visitor spending in-county and support hotels and restaurants.

County staff and residents also debated turf versus sod. Thornton cautioned that synthetic turf can be expensive to install and requires proper drainage and ongoing upkeep; he said synthetic fields often have a 15–20 year replacement lifecycle and can wear faster under heavy play. Staff emphasized that, given an overall field deficit, adding total playable acreage may be more cost-effective than building fewer high-cost turf fields.

On funding, Thornton said the county is exploring public–private partnerships and whether Tourist Development Tax (TDT) dollars could pay for a travel-focused facility, noting TDT funds generally require a travel-enhancing purpose. Shane Supple, the director of parks and recreation, acknowledged heavy Sunday use that frequently leaves fields torn up and said staff are trying to balance Little League scheduling and rec soccer use.

Community members pushed for faster action and more public turnout during budgeting. Several commenters, including Bobby Collins, urged the commission not to delay. “We need to invest in our kids,” Collins said, calling field improvements an investment in community youth. Speakers repeatedly emphasized that the right time to press for funding is the July budget hearings.

Next steps: Thornton said county staff will compile survey feedback from the workshops, present findings to the commission at a workshop, hold follow-up public sessions, and draft an implementation plan that identifies potential funding sources and a phased timeline. Thornton estimated that, once permitted, a major regional complex would take roughly three years to reach construction milestones if prioritized and funded.

The workshop did not include any formal votes. Officials said additional public input and budget deliberations this summer will determine whether and how the county proceeds with capital or operational funding for parks improvements.