Leesburg’s Monday night commission meeting has been moved from City Hall to the Venetian Gardens Center to accommodate the large crowd expected due to the controversy over the future of the city’s shuffleboard complex. The meeting will begin at 5:30 p.m.
The commission is considering donating that portion of the sports complex where the 22 lane shuffleboard complex and tennis courts are located to the Forward Paths organization. Forward Paths provides temporary housing in tiny houses and rental units for youth who have reached the age of 18 and have transitioned out of foster care.
At both the Aug. 11 and July 14 commission meetings, several Leesburg Shuffleboard Club (LSC) members spoke out urging the commission to deny the resolution to donate the shuffleboard complex to Forward Paths. The LSC members told the commission during those meetings that the courts on Palmetto Street were built in 1971. The city turned over the upkeep of the courts to the LSC in 1985 and provided the club with a clubhouse and storage area. Several members told the commission that LSC holds six tournaments every year in which upward of 100 people participate. Club members said that those tournaments bring revenue to local hotels and downtown businesses…