VERO BEACH – Tennis players at Charles Park should have a smoother surface to play on in the coming weeks.
The city has approved the work that calls for resurfacing the courts and fixing a problem area that resurfacing wouldn’t fix. The 4-acre property Charles Park sits on, at the intersection of 15th Street and 24th Avenue, was purchased about six years ago, but little has been done to improve the site, according to Vero Beach Recreation Commission Chair Richard Yemm.
Yemm gave the commission an update during its regular meeting Tuesday.
“Staff has been working, slowly, to do a little bit here and there,” Yemm said.
Other improvements for the park property include fixing the existing fencing around the site and clearing an area for a walking and jogging trail.
“We’re slowly eating away at getting the usage of this land,” Yemm said.
Commission members and the Vero Beach Police Department are also monitoring a parking issue that has arisen at the park.
Member Debbie-Kay Whitehouse told her fellow commission members that there has been a question about who can park vehicles at Charles Park.
High school students have been parking there but not using the park, according to Whitehouse. The students have said that the parking is public and that they have a right to park there.
Park patrons, however, have complained that the students are using parking spots meant for those visiting the park.
Recreation Department Director Rob Slezak told the commission that he has brought the issue to the Vero Beach Police Department, which is monitoring the park.
“The police seem to think they have the matter under control,” Slezak said.
Whitehouse suggested that signage might be necessary to make it clear that parking is for park patrons only and that violators could be towed.
Slezak said that they would continue to keep watch over the issue and did not believe that signage would be necessary right away.
