Mayor Floats Idea of Purchasing Old Bronson High School Gym

By Terry Witt – Spotlight Senior Reporter

Bronson Youth Sports basketball players practiced in an icy cold wind Monday night at James H. Cobb Park because the town has no indoor facility for the kids.

Mayor Beatrice Roberts told the town council at a board meeting the same night she thinks it would be a good idea for the town to purchase the old Bronson High School gym if the county commission is interested.

**Bronson Mayor Beatrice Roberts won support for her plan to purchase the old Bronson High School gymnasium if the county commission is interested in selling it.**

Her daughter coaches in Bronson Youth Sports, the private organization founded by Angela and David Lambe that replaced Bronson Parks and Recreation, the town’s former recreation department.

When county commissioners purchased the aging gym as part of the former Bronson High School property, they made no decision on what to do with the gym. It was leased to a church for a while but the lease expires in early February.

Roberts is interested in the town buying the gym.

“I think the town should find out what’s going on. I think it would be good for our kids because they are practicing at the park tonight and it’s 37 to 40 degrees outside. It was raining last week,” Roberts said.

County Commission Chairman John Meeks, in a previous interview, said he would love for the town to purchase the gym or come up with a reasonable offer to lease the gym for youth activities. He said that’s up to the town.

Meeks is an alumnus of Bronson High School.

Roberts said the outdoor practices subject the players to extreme cold and rain in the winter months. Rain sometimes washes out practices ahead of Saturday games at the newer Bronson Middle High School gym.

The mayor wants to find out if the county commission is interested in selling the gym. Her idea was supported by Councilman Jason Hunt and Councilman Robert Partin, the other council members at the meeting.

Roberts said the town could possibly offer after-school activities and a YMCA program through the use of the gym.

“We could do a lot of things with that gym if we decide to move on it and the county decides to sell it,” she said. “I heard discussions. I wanted to bring it before us first so we weren’t on the tail end of it.”

The town is in a transition to a town manager form of government. Partin introduced Town Manager Susan Beaudet to various county commissioners before Tuesday’s commission board meeting. Later in the meeting, Meeks asked Beaudet to talk about herself and her background.

Beaudet said she had served as a city councilman when she was much younger and knows how things generally work in small municipal governments, though she has never served in an administrative capacity in a city.

She has a Master’s Degree in public administration. The degree program trains students how to administer public agencies. Beaudet will have only two weeks to work with Interim Bronson Clerk Melisa Thompson before Thompson leaves for her new job as Williston human resource director.

The subject of purchasing the old gym didn’t come up during Tuesday’s county commission meeting. Beaudet took notes but didn’t raise the topic on behalf of the town.

The town has one close connection to Meeks. Councilman Hunt works at Bronson Ace Hardware for Meeks. Hunt said it was his understanding the county would want the gym appraised before offering it for sale.

The gym is connected to an office and locker room complex behind the facility. The old BHS football field is next door to the gym.

Bronson Youth Sports is interested in using the gym for youth activities. Meeks said the county is worried about liability if the facility is used without the town leasing it or purchasing it.

There has been some talk of the town applying for a grant to pay for a community center. The gym could possibly double as a community center and youth sports facility.

The town has yet to research whether a Community Development Block Grant (CDGB) or a Florida Recreation Development Assistance Program (FRDAP) could be used for that type of purchase.

The maximum FRDAP grant is $200,000. The town often uses small FRDAP grants to pay for recreational improvements to James A. Cobb Park.

CDBG grants can be much larger.

The town is considered fiscally constrained by state standards, which means it has a lean tax base and often is eligible for grants of this nature.

Town administrators haven’t researched whether either of the grant programs could be used to buy the gym.

The town would have to find out first if the county commission is willing to sell the old H.A. White Gymnasium to the town.

Meanwhile, the kids often practice in very cold and sometimes rainy weather.