By Susan K. Lamb Riverbend News
Several questions were brought forward at the Tuesday, July 6, Suwannee County Commission meeting by Live Oak resident Lynda Owens. Owens spoke regarding the closure of restrooms inside the gymnasium at the Douglass Center. Owens was concerned about how people visiting the park for recreation have no access to restroom facilities unless an official is in the gym to open them. She stated county and city parks can be used free and restrooms are available, but at this site there is a fee to use the outdoor pavilion, but no restrooms are open. She suggested kids who are playing there must go home to use their own facilities. She was also concerned why anyone would have to pay to use the pavilion.
Owens is a Live Oak City Council Member, but said she came as a citizen and not as a council member. She was joined by another citizen who also spoke about the lack of restroom access and said other parks and recreation centers, such as the Sportsplex, have open restrooms with no staff available.
During the discussion, Suwannee County Administrator Randy Harris said before the other buildings at the Douglass Center were taken down, the restrooms there couldn’t be left open because children would go and get into serious trouble. Harris said he’s been to court over such behavior by children at this site. Harris suggested the problem is not having enough staff at the Douglass Center at this time, but suggested at some point there may be more staff available.
Commissioner Clyde Fleming said the restrooms are locked, but when the gym is open, access to bathrooms in the gym are available.
Owens thanked the commission for the great work already done at the former Douglass High School site that was dedicated as a recreational park to serve the area years ago.
The Douglass Center has been completely cleared of the old school buildings except for the Suwannee County Sheriff’s building, (formerly a band room) used for Emergency Management and also the gymnasium. The well-kept property is mostly green grass with a football field behind the gym and several soccer fields set up and ready to go for a great game.
Suwannee Parks and Recreation Director Gregg Scott was present at the meeting and said the First Federal Sportsplex didn’t happen overnight. “A lot of blood, sweat and tears, donations and grants made that facility happen. That is called a community park,” Scott said. “The Douglass Center is a neighborhood park. That takes time also to get things together. Our plan is to take the next phase of the grant we just received to add to that.” He said there is a promise for some local donations and the county commission has set aside $35,000 to make improvements to the McAlpin site and the Douglass Center at the same time.
Scott said he has a couple of part-time employees who open and close gates and do other things for Suwannee Parks and Recreation and can work with them to try to get things resolved at the Douglass Center. “We can certainly experiment and try to make the restrooms more acceptable. This is the first I’ve heard about this,” Scott said. “If the commission wishes, we can experiment with the bathrooms, but bathrooms can be the worst nightmare you can have anywhere.”