DAPHNE, Ala.—Daphne’s Recreation Board will seek $497,000, spread over seven years—or $78,000 per year—to pay for lighting materials and construction at Trione Sports Complex.

“A major component in measuring a community’s quality of life is how many services are offered that meet and exceed community expectations,” Recreation Board Chairman Ed Nelson said at Monday’s City Council work session.

A survey—which will ask residents to assess city services, equipment and credibility of programs—will be available soon. The evaluation will account for enrollment and participation in city recreational programs.

“It will help us in the present and for planning the future,” Nelson said.

Nelson will also coordinate with local hotel and retail establishments to evaluate the impact of out-of-town guests who stay overnight while participating in local events.

Nelson said the department would like to send out the surveys as soon as possible, but has been waiting to address the council to seek approval.

Having been a Recreation Board representative since it was reestablished in 2006, Councilman August Palumbo, who sits on the Recreation Board, suggested that initiating the survey would not require authorization from the council.

Planned improvements to Trione Sports Complex will include adding lights,  a concession stand and restroom facilities.

“I think we all know that without lights and facilities, it restricts us from some of the things that we can do,” Nelson said. “I know money is tight. We’re simply making a request.”

Nelson suggested using money from the city’s lodging tax, which is usually collected from area hotels.

“We’ve got a lot of people that want a piece of that lodging tax,” Councilman Ron Scott said. He added that the city needs to prioritize before allocating funds for proposed projects.

“We’ve got other entities tugging, interested in what we’re going to do with the lodging tax,” Palumbo said.

Nelson added that the lighting can be paid off in increments spread over as much as seven years.

He also mentioned possibly using city electrical engineers that could perform in-kind services and lower the project cost.

Council President John Lake expressed the city’s need for completing the park’s renovations.

“I remember when we built the library,” he said. “(The construction didn’t start) until we had to turn away 150 kids that wanted to be in a reading program.”

New members

The Recreation Board comprises seven members, none of which represent a minority race or a senior citizen. The board will nominate two residents—one minority and one senior citizen—to serve as alternates.

“Even though we have seven good representatives, they can’t make it to every meeting, every time,” Palumbo said. “I think your biggest challenge will be finding people who will stay interested without voting rights.”

Councilman Bailey Yelding said an alternate would vote in place of an absent board member.

Lake suggested Nelson submit the two alternate-member recommendations to Councilman Greg Burnam, who is also a council representative to the board.

Scholarship

In other news, the department plans to reach out to its younger participants including creating an annual scholarship for a student to represent Daphne.

Lake lauded Nelson for his scholarship recommendation;  he then shared how last weekend he drove by a group of teenagers idly sitting on a parking lot.

“They literally looked like they had nowhere to go,” Lake said.

Yelding, however, said he expects political maneuvering, especially from parents, in attempts to procure the scholarship for their children.