Keith Whitfield's valiant three-year battle to pump life into Santa Rosa County's long-neglected East Milton Park ended with out the rousing victory the retired Military veteran sought to attain.
However the struggles Whitfield's Emerald Coast Sports activities Affiliation endured to maintain the park afloat led him to hunt an alliance with Lighthouse Non-public Christian Academy. It's a partnership county officers hope will repay now that the academy has stepped in to handle the park.
Academy President Joanne Johannas and her husband, Academy CEO Colin Hendrickson, appeared earlier than the Santa Rosa County Fee final week to formally request that Lighthouse Non-public Christian Academy be allowed to take management of Whitfield and “undertake” the park.
Whitfield's contract with the county was terminated in mid-November. A letter confirming the county's severing of ties with the Emerald Coast Sports activities Affiliation indicated the choice to half methods was “mutually agreed”.
“Mr. Whitfield tried actually onerous, however he simply couldn't put it collectively. He didn't have what it took to place all of it collectively,” Santa Rosa County Administrator DeVann Prepare dinner mentioned.
The Academy can muster manpower and monetary assets that Whitfield by no means might to take care of the park.
Monetary infusion wanted
Whitfield informed the Pensacola Information Journal that in 2020 he inherited administration of the park from a gaggle that had not achieved upkeep for at the very least 10 years. He mentioned he and a gaggle of six volunteers had been overwhelmed with attempting to take care of 11 baseball/softball fields, a soccer area, a soccer area, a leaky gymnasium, two tennis courts and a playground.
Hendrickson informed commissioners that Christian Academy has already invested about $25,000 in upgrading a few of the baseball fields on the 25-acre park and introduced in three baseball groups, varsity and junior excessive groups and a varsity-level workforce to work on web site.
Johannas mentioned Lighthouse officers gained't hesitate to spend no matter it takes to beautify the park and restore its sports activities amenities.
“Our document speaks for itself,” Hendrickson informed commissioners.
In a letter supplied to commissioners that included monetary statements, Johannas mentioned the academy is trying ahead to upgrading the health club on the park.
“After dropping our residence health club in 2022, our college students couldn’t have constant observe time and we needed to lease gyms,” the letter mentioned. “By permitting Lighthouse to undertake East Milton Park, we can have the chance to observe and play video games in an already established gymnasium constructing.
In March, Whitfield took a reporter by the gymnasium, a large construction with a concrete flooring that leaked when it rained and puddled if the HVAC system wasn't stored working.
In her letter, Johannas mentioned Lighthouse plans to color the inside of the health club, make repairs and put new flooring within the health club.
“The health club wants some tender loving care to get it to the extent we’d like it to be,” Hendrickson informed commissioners.
Discovering a health club
Lighthouse has been with no health club since being compelled out of Pensacola's Malcolm Yonge Health club in 2022 on brief discover on account of structural harm that was discovered within the facility.
The health club was owned by the town however leased to Lighthouse Christian Academy for $100 a 12 months. It was used for bodily training lessons, cheerleading, and center faculty, highschool, and faculty basketball video games.
Discovering a health club was one thing that Lighthouse officers took very significantly. In Could, when Lighthouse launched into an finally unsuccessful bid with the town of Milton to purchase the constructing that after housed the Group Care Middle of West Florida, Johannas informed the Metropolis Council “once I noticed the health club, I nearly cried.”
Makes an attempt to achieve Johannas and Hendrickson for remark had been unsuccessful.
The County Fee voted Thursday to simply accept Lighthouse's bid to take over East Milton Park. All council members spoke of trying ahead to working with the varsity.
County Commissioner Kerry Smith mentioned Lighthouse would function East Milton Park in addition to Whitfield's Emerald Coast Sports activities Affiliation. It can function beneath a lease with the county as a non-profit, and the amenities will probably be open to the general public besides when parts could also be closed to accommodate tournaments or different particular occasions.
Commissioner Colten Wright mentioned he doesn't count on any effort by Lighthouse Non-public Christian Academy to make use of its administration of East Milton Park to advertise a non secular message.
“They aren’t a company that may take a leisure facility and use it to push their particular person spiritual views on any individual else. I simply don't see that occuring with them,” Wright mentioned. “I do know Dr. Johannas is absolutely attempting to proper the ship.
Throughout an earlier assembly, Smith expressed concern that enhancements to the highway resulting in the park grounds and the economic park past might expose park company to the truth that the power sits subsequent to a state jail. Prepare dinner mentioned there was consideration at some future date to return the park lot to its unique industrial designation and discover one other East Milton Parcel devoted to recreation.
“We want to discover the suitable property and transfer the entire facility,” he mentioned.
