I'm Gonna Address My City Council....(LONG)..

In My Humble Opinion
1

…next Monday, and I need y’all’s help.

Here in the city of Dallas, Georgia, we have not one outdoor basketball court! If I wanna shoot some hoops, or teach my grandson the finer points of the game, I have to travel 8 miles to the nearest city (Hiram) to find the only outdoor cement court available, and it’s always crowded, because even those citizens have just that one court.

We have Little League/Pony League ballfields galore, but when I took my roundball, put it in my car and went looking at the local rec park for some hoops, there were none to be found.

One of the LL coaches even scratched his head and told me, “Damn, you’re right! There ain’t one to be found in the city!”

Here in Dallas, (Paulding County, GA), we boast that we are one of the fastest growing cities/counties in our state, but for some reason, we are missing the fact that on a sunny Saturday/Sunday afternoon, a dad or grandad (ME!) might wanna shoot some hoops with his little one.

Okay. We got three days to get this thing together. Have you had the same problem in your town, and what did you do to get your courts?

Here’s one thing I’m thinking: Do they not want outdoor courts because they think (they think, not me), that this may be a place for drug sales to occur? Is it racially motivated?

I need some ammunition, y’all. FTR, I’m a white guy, just looking to shoot some hoops and teach my little Julian the game.

Sorry this is so long, but I’m gonna be the only one addressing them, and it would be great to know my Doper friends were behind me…

Quasimodem

2

I’ve never been in your position before, but that statement made me think of an idea.

Have you tried to find other people in your community who also would be interested in having these courts? Parents of your son’s friends, guys you pal around with at work or wherever? Seems to me if you could find at least five or six other guys (or women) who would be behind this as well, it might make a better case for the city.

My guess is that no matter how eloquent your argument, one guy isn’t going to convince the city to spend even a few hundred dollars (maybe a thousand, I don’t know how much they cost…) unless they’re sure it would be used for its intended purpose. You show that it will be used for its intended purpose by showing how many people say they’d use it.

Ask your son’s friends’ parents, ask students at the local high school and middle school, ask anyone else you know who might ACTUALLY USE THE COURT (i.e. no “activist” people saying how good it would be for the cirty, etc. unless they would ACTUALLY USE it).

Get people in your community to show they would use it if it were there.

3

You are right of course. There is strength in numbers, Problem is the hours I work (7p-7a) and the fact that I am basically a loner.
Just can’t get over the fact that there haven’t been people before me who have complained about this.

Thanks, Garfield! I appreciate your response.

Q

4

You definitely need to stress the positive aspects of having the basketball court, such as creating more recreational opportunities for youth, while deemphasizing stuff like liability insurance and maintenance.

Actually, I don’t think the liability insurance would be much of an issue if the city already has baseball diamonds.

5

Go down to the Recreation and Parks Department and talk to the Director. It may be that the Dept. would be happy to put one up for you at the park. Our kids asked for a place to skateboard and the Dept. set up a small skate park in one of their parking lots. Without us having to go before the Board.

Our Director is one who loves sports and recreation. He is interested in more people (both kids and adults) getting up off the couch and playing in our parks. Maybe ya’lls Director is like that, too.

Ditto what Garfield said. Try to find some more citizens who would like to see basketball goals at the park. Enlist the help of neighborhood kids. Council members loooove kids.

Good luck !