Board Meeting — 10/12/20

Call to Order: President D. Robinson called the meeting to order at 5:48 PM.

Members present included: D. Robinson, M. Null, J. Hinkle, M. Kazmierski, L. Null, and L. Williams.

President Robinson welcomed Pierce Kelley, Youth Tennis Foundation (YTF) Board Member/ LCCCTA Partner and Darnell Wormely, local competitive tennis player and coach.

D. Robinson also expressed gratitude to Mike and Laura Null for allowing LCCCTA to meet in an open shelter under their home.

Minutes of the August 10, 2020 Board Meeting were reviewed, as well as a Summary Update from September 2020.

A motion was made by M. Null to approve the 8/10/20 Minutes as presented; the motion was seconded by J. Hinkle, and the motion carried unanimously.

M. Null provided a report and expressed extreme gratitude to Suwannee Valley Community Foundation (SVCF), a member of Community Foundation of Jacksonville—the largest in the southeast.

First, M. Null provided a brief history of the local SVCF foundation, in which he personally was a founding partner. For many years, Mr. James Montgomery served as Chair, and was also a huge contributor.

Currently, LCCCTA Board Member Richard Johnson serves on SVCF.

M. Null began process of writing the grant in early March and submitted the grant application (requesting funds to cover the cost of necessary tennis equipment and materials) on behalf of LCCCTA, which would supplement funding received from Youth Tennis Foundation (YTF) and USTA.

Mr. Patrick Douglas, SVCF Chair, was happy to recently call M. Null with news of SVCF’s unanimous vote to award the total $10,000 grant request to LCCCTA.

M. Null requested the SVCF “Summary of Proposal“ be added to the October 12th, 2020 Meeting Minutes.

Mr. Pierce Kelley, guest speaker and Youth Tennis Foundation (YTF) Board Member, requested the expected delivery date and placement of the $5,000 portable utility building at Young’s Park tennis courts. The building has been provided by YTF funding.

M. Null said he expects delivery by October 16th and the building will be placed on the north side of the tennis courts. (Contributions for furniture; desk, table, and chairs will be necessary and appreciated).

P. Kelley verified a YTF banner windscreen (50’ x 6’) will be donated and shipped to M. Null for LCCCTA, very soon. Members present expressed much gratitude to P. Kelley for the extremely generous funding/donations from YTF.

P. Kelley suggested LCCCTA plan to host a City Tennis Championship, as well as a County Tennis Championship, once the tennis courts are completed.

M. Null provided a comprehensive report on the City tennis court construction project.

The court lighting is in the process of being checked and adjusted, if needed. French drains will be installed to carry water away from the courts.

M. Null anticipates Court Services, Inc. will begin to level/fill the asphalt that might be low in some areas during the week of Oct. 19, 2020.

The company will be responsible for providing court coating, installing net posts and nets, as well as tennis court lines.The color selection for the four new tennis courts is blue and the perimeter will be gray.

The City will place four portable bleachers—two in between the courts, one to the east and one to the west.

L. Williams will contact Capital Metals to see if 3-4 aluminum shelters can be provided to cover the bleachers.

The targeted date set for completion of the four new Young’s park tennis courts is early November 2020.

M. Null urged the group to begin tennis activities just as soon as tennis courts are available; Junior Team Tennis will be the first program, as YTF previously allocated special funding so LCCCTA can begin the youth tennis program.

M. Null is in the process of drafting a proposed License Agreement between LCCCTA and the City of Lake City. The document will address our CTA’s role in regard to managing and providing oversight, but specifically, programming and scheduling activities.

Court access, promotion of community tennis, cleanliness, special events, safety, liability, and repairs will be addressed.

L. Williams provided email correspondence she received from George English (USTA Florida Representative) is not allowed to travel until further notice; most likely it will be in the new year.

USTA Florida has resumed many of the adult leagues, with Section Championships being held in Orlando. All National Championships for this year have been cancelled.

Junior Team Tennis has restarted in some areas of Florida, and some junior tournaments are now being held. We are also resuming the "Love to Learn, Love to Play" program which seeks new players to the game.

This fall, Special Olympics has allowed tennis play to resume (normally a spring sport), although a maximum of 10 people will be allowed on court, including coaches and players.

Most of the Special Olympics fall sports remained shut down, so tennis has an advantage over most of the other sports despite the restrictions.

G. English appreciates all of the good work LCCCTA is doing, and he looks forward to being able to attend LCCCTA board meetings sometime in the future. He asked that our CTA let him know if there is anything he can do to help.

L. Williams also reported Nelson Rivera is out of town and unable to attend the meeting.

Bridget van Aller sent an email to notify L. Williams she was unable to attend the meeting, but is interested in helping with the Grand Opening Event for the new tennis courts.

J. Hinkle provided the Treasurer’s Report for October. The balance in the bank account is $7,437.73. An outstanding check for $70 is not reflected in the balance.

President D. Robinson discussed future plans to host a drop-by Grand Opening Event at Young’s Park tennis courts, tentatively scheduled for Thursday, December 10th, 2020 beginning at 5:00 PM. Plans are to serve light refreshments/h’oeuvres; M. Kazmierski offered to check with a few local restaurants to obtain donations for food and drinks.

L. Null suggested the raffles be for services, to include tennis lessons.

In addition, the grand opening will have local tennis players demonstrating forehand, backhand, serves, and volleys on the new tennis courts.

Guest Darnell Wormely believes the timing of the grand opening is perfect; the other community sports are concluding their seasons, so it will be a good time to introduce tennis to the youth.

Since LCCCTA intends to begin a Youth Tennis Team (YTT) program, the timing is ideal.L. Null suggested we invite both CHS tennis coaches to be involved with the program and announce the start of YTT at the December Grand Opening Event. (Possibly, the program could begin the following week.)

L. Williams will contact the CHS Girl’s Team Tennis coach and invite her to attend the November 9th board meeting.

Both the Boy’s and Girls’ tennis teams will benefit from having players in the competitive YTT Program.

D. Robinson suggested having materials available for USTA’s "Love to Learn" program, as well as USTA tennis leagues, and round robin events at the Grand Opening Event.

L. Null suggested having sign-up sheets for captain and player slots for each of these programs/events.

D. Robinson asked members to go online to view ‘Tennis Court Rules’ used at other tennis facilities, and then come to the November meeting with a list of applicable rules which LCCCTA could use to manage the new courts.

Guest Darnell Wormely made a final comment in reminding the group that Richardson Community Center (RCC) has a public tennis court available for access, not requiring a key card.

President Robinson announced the next Board meeting is set for November 9th, 2020.

There being no further formal business, President Robinson adjourned the meeting at 7:28 PM.