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November 26, 2009

City OKs sports academy lease

By Patrick McCreless The Cullman Times

HANCEVILLE — The city of Hanceville will soon have its own sports training academy.

During their meeting Tuesday, the Hanceville City Council voted to sign a leasing agreement with local resident Justin Britt for a building behind the National Guard Armory. The city acquired the building and armory earlier this year.

Britt, who is a former University of Alabama football player and a football coach at Hanceville High School, said he plans to turn the building into a strength training center for local athletes.

“It’ll improve all sports in Hanceville,” Britt said. “We will make athletes stronger, faster and we will focus on injury prevention. We will give the city something to be proud of, and I think we’ll be able to bring in a lot of kids.”

Mayor Kenneth Nail said according to the lease agreement, in lieu of monthly rent, Britt agreed to refurbish the building, add bathrooms, and provide general maintenance for an estimated cost of $20,000.

“That comes out to about $333 a month,” Nail said. “We felt like that was fair ... we knew we were not going to do anything for that building.”

Britt said the 4,000 square-foot building would contain various kinds of Olympic-style weight training equipment. He also plans to convert a field by the building into a football field for additional training.

“I plan to do football and sports camps,” Britt said.

The facility is expected to be partially open by summer of next year.

In other business the council:

* annexed 6 and a half acres of property owned by Charles Mann.

* presented local resident Herman Reid with a proclamation in honor of his many years of service to the community, including helping to establish the National Guard Armory in Hanceville.

* corrected the term limits for those serving on the Hanceville Historical Preservation Commission. Three members will serve three-year terms, two members will serve two-year terms and two other members will serve one-year terms.



* Patrick McCreless can be reached by e-mail at patrickm@cullmantimes.com or by telephone at 734-2131 ext. 270.

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