Improvements to the Long County Recreation Department are continuing with the addition of paved parking.
According to department director Michelle Rogers, 216 paved parking spaces currently are being constructed and will be finished by the opening of baseball season on Saturday.
Rogers said Little Phil Construction of Waycross is doing the work.
“We have really needed additional parking for several years,” Rogers said. “I know since I’ve been over here, we’ve needed it, and what we are getting will really benefit everybody.”
Rogers said she was excited about the work.
“The recreation park is a focal part of the whole community, and it is something that everyone in the county can take pride in and enjoy,” she said.
Rogers said the parking is step toward the whole park’s renovation.
Since she became the director, the county has added two football fields and two baseball fields, and she said more is coming.
“We still are going to add a pavilion that people will be able to use for birthday parties and family gatherings, and we still are planning on adding two more baseball fields,” Rogers said.
When the complex is finished, there will be eight baseball fields, two football fields, a pavilion and a walking track.
Long County Commissioner Clifton Deloach said, “We’ve needed this expansion bad. You figure this year we have 10 T-ball teams with 15 kids on each team. That’s 150 kids just in T-ball alone. We’re not even talking about baseball.”
He also praised the improvements, saying most of the funding has come from the special-purpose local sales tax.
Opening day for Long County recreation baseball starts at 9 a.m. Saturday.