Board Meeting – March 9, 2020

Call to Order: President Dolly Robinson called the meeting to order at 5:42 PM. Members present included: Dolly Robinson, Mike Null, Joe Hinkle, Linda Williams, Liza Viplav, Marcia Kazmierski, Laura Null, Glenn Hunter, and Recie Davis.Revised Minutes of the January 13, 2020 Board Meeting were reviewed and Treasurer’s Report balance will need to be confirmed. Motion was made by M. Null to approve as presented, allowing numerical change, if necessary. The motion was seconded by G. Hunter.Motion carried unanimously.Minutes of the February 10, 2020 Annual Meeting were reviewed; motion was made by G. Hunter to approve as presented, seconded by M. Kazmierski. Motion carried unanimously.Minutes of the Feb. 10, 2020 Board Meeting were reviewed (which was held immediately following the Annual Meeting); motion was made by G. Hunter to approve as presented, seconded by M. Null. Motion carried unanimously.President Robinson welcomed Pierce Kelley, Youth Tennis Foundation Board Member and LCCCTA Partner.M. Null provided a status report on the CHS tennis courts: There have been scheduling delays as a result of the need for additional prep work due to the (13-year) age of the courts. The southern four courts are curing at the present time; the northern four courts will be completed next, and hopefully, all eight courts will be resurfaced by the end of the tennis season—all having new nets.M. Null said that currently, the Boy’s team is undefeated and the Girl’s team is in the process of building their team. Both teams have been displaced during this court construction; practicing at The Country Club and playing their matches out of town.M. Null also provided a status report on the City tennis court construction project:The prep work, site work and electrical is well underway. However, the City needed to make revisions to the bidding process to make it more attractive to contractors. They did this by dividing the project into three separate bids—surface, fencing, and electrical.M. Null contacted City personnel asking them to please encourage contractors to submit their bids by March 12, 2020. We should know more by the April meeting.M. Null said the $5,000 Youth Tennis Foundation (YTF) Grant for a storage building is currently pending. This storage building would be placed on the north side of the tennis site.YTF representative, Pierce Kelley, reviewed the picture and details of the selected storage building and agreed it would serve our needs. P. Kelley asked when LCCCTA will need the grant money to purchase the storage building. It was decided we could use the $1500 (previously earmarked for JTT) and the balance of $3,500 could be sent from YTF to LCCCTA by May 15, 2020.M. Null said the building can be delivered after June 30, 2020 and the City will be responsible for providing electricity to the building.P. Kelley asked if there will be a charge to use the tennis courts and M. Null said since they are public courts, there will be no charge. However, there will be a ‘key access system’ so tennis courts are secured and playing times can be allotted and scheduled.In addition to completing the YTF grant application, M. Null has been putting together a $10,000 grant request with Suwannee Valley Community Foundation (SVCF) to provide funding for equipment that will be necessary for the new tennis courts (blowers, bleachers, windscreens, score cards, etc.)M. Null has been using 10-S Tennis Supply to price items for the grant application.G. Hunter made a motion the final application be submitted to SVCF pending final review. J. Hinkle seconded the motion; all approved and the motion carried unanimously.M. Null reminded the group the City is looking into entering into a Partnership Agreement with LCCCTA. The Agreement would allow LCCCTA to manage activities such as clinics, camps, tournaments, etc.G. Hunter said he can access former Partnership Agreements for LCCCTA to review.L. Williams reported the City Recreation Director is very interested in having LCCCTA continue to conduct the Annual James Montgomery Youth Summer Camp.Ms. Phillips will let me know the status of court construction so summer planning can begin.After the February meeting, D. Robinson and L. Williams had the opportunity to hit on the new Richardson Community Center (RCC) community court.It was a very nice surface and the center is keeping the gate locked when there are no players.L. Williams let the group know that Mr. Mario Coppock, County Recreation Director, sent LCCCTA an invitation to attend their RCC court dedication ceremony to be held on March 17, 2020 at noon. She will forward that invitation to all LCCCTA members.L. Williams ensured a listing of all the Columbia County community centers with tennis courts has been posted on both Facebook and the LCCCTA website for anyone looking for tennis courts.M. Null asked about the two tennis courts located at Florida Gateway College, but L. Williams confirmed both courts are in bad repair.L. Williams placed a picture and post on both Facebook and the LCCCTA website to honor the tennis legacy of James Montgomery, former LCCCTA board member.J. Hinkle provided the Treasurer’s Report for March. The balance in the bank account remains at $2,137.73, with all checks clearing.He verified our organization’s USTA membership was renewed by L. Williams on August 12, 2019 and it is a three-year membership—to be renewed by August 2022.L. Viplav told the group one participant cancelled, but she will bring a 12-year old to Gainesville on March 28, 2020. The upcoming State Games will be held in Orlando, with participants playing with the green tennis ball.L. Viplav reported there has been no progress with obtaining PE teachers from Belmont Academy for the USTA Net Generation Program. However, there are 3-4 Belmont Academy students currently playing on the CHS Boy’s Tennis Team.G. Hunter said it is necessary for our organization to have a tennis facility in order to obtain the interest of the community. Once we do, we should see a lot of interest.Until that time, D. Robinson said the Junior Team Tennis (JTT) remains on hold.She told P. Kelley that we are hoping to begin the program as soon as we have tennis courts available.G. Hunter said Columbia County recently purchased 500 acres of land west of Hwy 41, and hopefully, we will hear there will be land allocated for tennis.D. Robinson encouraged all volunteers to complete the online Safe Sport Training on Net Generation, as it is a requirement of USTA.D. Robinson suggested we set a date at our April meeting for a Spring Racket Day Fundraiser to be held in May.L. Williams read an email from Scott Mitchell, Executive Director of Tennis/CEO of Premier Tennis Consulting. He wanted to let our group know he relocated to Gainesville and is wanting to help tennis grow in Lake City; he would love to help with programming or run clinics, as he has many years of experience and would like to get these up and running.P. Kelley suggested we remember to contact Mr. Mitchell; he will be very valuable to our organization when we begin large tournaments.D. Robinson cancelled the Adult Tennis Social scheduled for Sat., March 15th , due to date conflicts for most members. It will be rescheduled for a later date.President Robinson announced the next Board meeting is set for April 13, 2020.There being no further formal business, President Robinson adjourned the meeting at 7:06 PM.