A citizen visited the Bainbridge City Council Tuesday night to ask for help making a neighborhood recreation spot a better place to play at.

Sadi Hasona, an avid local tennis player, said he just wants to help his two school-age sons learn more about the game of tennis at the Carole Floyd Tennis Complex on Boulevard Avenue. However, according to Hasona, there have been problems when he and his sons have played there recently.

The problems Hasona outlined are problems that other citizens have complained about in the past, namely, lighting the courts and adjacent streets at night and the security of players who choose to play in the evenings.

Hasona said he had been unable to turn on the lights at night until just recently.

City Manager Chris Hobby said it was because the lights had been left off after City Hall had received complaints from residents near the courts about the lights being kept on late at night. Since daylight-saving time ended earlier in November, city employees have switched the lights back on, Hobby said.

Hasona said he sometimes felt unsafe taking his sons to the courts at night. On one occasion, he asked two people who appeared to be smoking marijuana in the covered area near the courts to leave but they refused.

Mayor Mark Harrell said he would ask for Public Safety officers to patrol the area more frequently, while Hobby said he would look into Hasona’s suggestion that some of the gates opening onto the courts be locked in an attempt to make them more secure for players.

The City Council approved renovation and resurfacing of the courts at the Carole Floyd Tennis Complex and a couple of courts by Potter Street Elementary in 2007. After the city’s modern, 11-court tennis complex on Cox Avenue opened back in 2005, some citizens had asked the council to keep the Floyd Complex maintained as a free-to-play option.

Bainbridge Leisure Services does allow people to play at the Cox Avenue tennis center at low cost or for free, during special events or when special circumstances are demonstrated.

Other business

In other business, the council:

 Approved, by unanimous vote, appointing Susan Ralph, Ryan Cleveland and Ryan Phillips as the city’s chosen representatives on the Keep Decatur County Beautiful board of directors. The Board of Commissioners is still considering its appointees to the new KDCB board, which was set up by the approval of new bylaws in September.

 Approved, by unanimous vote, a set of minor adjustments to the city’s 2008-2009 budget to reflect actual line item expenditures in order to comply with state law;

 Approved, by unanimous vote, the renewal of all existing alcoholic beverage licenses for businesses operating within city limits. In a separate vote, the council unanimously agreed to renew the alcoholic beverage license held by the Charter House Management Group, doing business at 1401 Tallahassee Hwy. Mayor Harrell excused himself from the council chambers during consideration of the Charter House’s request, citing the fact that his brother, Mike Harrell, has an ownership interest in the Charter House.

 Approved, by unanimous vote, a request from Yvonne D. Wood, WCULTRA Inc., doing business as Beef O’Brady’s Family Sports Pub at 1408 Tallahassee Hwy., for an alcoholic beverage license permitting on-premises pouring of spirituous liquor;

 Held an approximately 10-minute closed session to discuss a proposed real estate transaction. When the open meeting resumed, Mayor Pro Tempore Dean Burke said no action was taken;

 Heard from employees of the city’s General Administration Division, which presented its annual departmental presentation in video format.

Bids and Bills

By unanimous vote, the City Council approved the following bids and bills:

Bids: $62,207.64 from H&S Supply of Moultrie, Ga., for storm drain pipes for Bill Reynolds Sports Park Phase 3; $34,586.01 from Hanson Pipe and Precast of Gretna, Fla., for storm drain structures for Bill Reynolds Sports Park Phase 3; $11,000 from Barlowworld Handling of Albany, Ga., for a used electric forklift and charger and $6,875 from BadgerMeter of Milwaukee, Wis.., for meters used in the automated water and sewer meter reading system.

Bills: $10,050 from the Georgia Department of Natural Resources of Atlanta, Ga., for annual drinking water permit fees; $15,000 from East Coast Pyrotechnics of Catawba, S.C., for a fireworks display in conjunction with the city’s 2010 Fourth of July celebration; $9,274.17 from Georgia Municipal Association of Atlanta, Ga., for workers compensation self-insurance; and $43,306 from Decatur County Board of Commissioners for monthly landfill and inmate fees.