On Aug. 25, at the Board of County Commissioners’ (BOCC) meeting, Dr. Devonte White, who was born and raised in Inverness, and now resides in Texas, presented his proposal to renovate the basketball courts at Alexander Park.
The BOCC voted unanimously to accept his generous Citrus County Community Charitable Foundation, Inc. grant donation of $10,000, along with a $2,000 donation from the local community and support the renovations to the basketball courts.
“I wanted to renovate my childhood basketball court in order to keep the kids in the neighborhood off the streets and on the court,” said Devonte in a post on Twitter when he began working on the project.
In his proposal, White declared that “this renovation will attract more people to the park, which can improve social interaction and strengthen community ties.” He envisions that an improved park will be “a safe haven for the family who may not be able to pay for their child to participate in a summer basketball camp or cannot afford transportation to travel across the county to bring their child to practice.”
He also sees the promise of the park to be “a hub for children, teens, and adults to play the sport,” and to “provide a major facelift to the neighborhood by reviving the dilapidated court.”
Alexander Park is located at 2552 North Railroad Way in Hernando, FL. The renovation plans include new backboards and the installation of a new Versacourt surface, which is suspended tile surface designed to be assembled on top of the existing basketball court.
“This is a win – win for our community. Devonte has been the catalyst for bringing the right people and organizations together to make this collaborative project happen. It has been a pleasure to work with him,” said Citrus County Parks and Recreation Director Francine Nobles.
The total amount of the project is $18,831.54. The majority of the project will be paid for with the $10,000 grant Devonte received, along with $2,000 received from local donations.
The remaining $6,831.54 will be funded through the Parks and Recreation Division.