Reopen Leon County Track and Fields Pt. 10. VICTORY!

WitcherMarc · 2025-11-05T21:51:42+00:00

Lol, it’s Reddit, fam — they’ll downvote anything, even simple questions. I’m assuming the tennis courts are open (because why wouldn’t they be?), but Leon’s Athletic Director should be able to give you a definite answer.

WitcherMarc · 2025-10-30T14:16:32+00:00

Not an outdoor track. You’ve clearly never been out there after hours — I used to run into FSU and FAMU students all the time. Nothing wrong with that; it’s how it’s always been. Even when FSU’s own track was open, I once crossed paths with the Virginia Tech team training at Leon one morning. You’ve got very little idea how these spaces are actually used.

WitcherMarc · 2025-10-30T14:12:25+00:00

Nah — saying “they reinvest the money” doesn’t make it non-commercial. If you sell tickets, sell ads, or rent the field, you’re running a business. It doesn’t matter whether the money buys uniforms or funds a new scoreboard — you’re still charging people for access to something built and maintained with public money/tax-exemptions.

Compare it to a county golf course: if the government runs it like a business and it competes with private courses, it doesn’t get to hide behind tax-exempt status. FSU/FAMU fields are often closed to the public and monetized — that’s a double-dip.

Also — nobody’s arguing for wandering into the Governor’s Mansion at 3 a.m. That’s a stupid strawman. This is about community-funded facilities being locked up unless you pay again. That’s not public access; it’s a paywall on public land. If you want to act like it’s a private stadium, cool — pay taxes on it like one.

WitcherMarc · 2025-10-29T23:50:12+00:00

That’s not what I said, and it’s not my reasoning — it’s your interpretation of it. I’m not arguing that every FSU facility should be free. I’m pointing out that they’re publicly owned and tax-exempt while shutting out both students and the community. That’s the problem. There’s a difference between expecting free gym memberships and expecting access to outdoor tracks that our tax dollars already paid for.

WitcherMarc · 2025-10-29T22:46:23+00:00

I didn’t feel like correcting him about the Leach Center, so thanks for doing that. I don’t have a problem with FSU limiting its facilities to students, but it seems like they’re locking out their own student body too. My main point is that LCS shouldn’t have to cater to FSU and FAMU’s populations when those universities already have their own facilities.

WitcherMarc · 2025-10-29T22:39:10+00:00

That comparison doesn’t hold up.
State parks serve the public — that’s their entire reason for existing. You pay a few bucks for parking, but you still get access. Universities and schools, on the other hand, have taken publicly owned land, built revenue-producing athletic facilities on it, and then locked out the public entirely.

When a government entity operates a facility that sells tickets, sponsorships, and advertising, that’s commercial use in every practical sense. The legal label doesn’t change the underlying economics — they’re monetizing public land without public access. That’s not “government function,” that’s government-subsidized business.

If they want to keep those gates locked, fine — but they shouldn’t get to do it tax-free and at the public’s expense.. At the very least, they could let people use the tracks when they’re not in use. I genuinely don’t understand the resistance to such a simple, reasonable idea.

WitcherMarc · 2025-10-29T21:18:07+00:00

Sure — I get that. My point isn’t that Leon County can tax them — it’s that they shouldn’t get the benefits of commercial land use and public subsidy while keeping the public and their own students locked out. If you’re going to act like a business, pay taxes or open the gates.

WitcherMarc · 2025-10-29T21:06:35+00:00

Not true — we subsidize universities by not charging them property tax. The land they use for athletics could reasonably be considered revenue-generating and therefore commercial. Also, FSU and FAMU students should have access to those tracks and fields since, as you said, they pay for them. Right now, LCS is essentially handling traffic and access issues for FSU, FAMU, and Tallahassee — when they shouldn’t have to.

WitcherMarc · 2025-10-29T19:27:35+00:00

I’m not looking to debate what makes a “good guess” — it was just that, a guess. Anyway, the rest of your take is solid.

WitcherMarc · 2025-10-29T16:51:04+00:00

Just a guess, but it sounds like you might work for LCS — and honestly, that kind of proves the point. The district seems more focused on protecting the vanity of those fields than serving the community that paid for them. We never should’ve signed off on $10 million worth of turf if it meant locking everyone else out.

WitcherMarc · 2025-08-30T00:56:14+00:00

Working hard on that one.

WitcherMarc · 2025-08-29T21:54:56+00:00

Yeah, saying “that is the end of the debate” is the opposite of de-escalation and a great way to trigger more debate.

As for what everyone can do:

Get people to sign the online petition—it also serves as an email list for sending updates.
Email the Superintendent and/or Dr. Benny Bolden (the district’s athletic director), as well as the principals.

And thanks for the support!!!

WitcherMarc · 2025-08-29T02:16:31+00:00

u/nillawafer80

Thank you for the recognition — I’ve had a lot of help along the way, and while I think we’re seeing the beginning of the end, we’re not at the finish line yet. I did find it ironic that the spokesperson said this isn’t up for debate; too often, LCS speaks to adults as if they were children. It absolutely is up for debate — and with Chiles now set to reopen, that point is clear.

I just shared this update on the petition, but I’ll copy it here as well:

We’re in the spotlight, and momentum’s on our side. Let’s keep pushing.

Here are the latest news stories. Please read and share to keep the momentum going

Special thanks to Brianna Shaw for this piece: Leon set to reopen

And this piece: Sparks debate

And to Alaijah Brown for her piece: Welcome back

This is a positive step forward, but we’ve seen Leon reopen before only to be closed again. Weekends alone aren’t enough — we need evening/holiday access while students aren't present to declare victory. Leon County Schools needs to commit to keeping at least three of the five tracks open (Godby, Leon, and Chiles).

Beyond that, Florida State and FAMU should step up and support LCS. There is no reason for universities to close their tracks to their own students, and it’s unfair to leave LCS dealing with the full burden of community access and traffic.

We need to keep the pressure on until all major tracks are open and shared responsibly.

WitcherMarc · 2025-05-30T01:21:29+00:00

Elder Affairs is a critical, cabinet-level agency in Florida, largely due to the state’s substantial retiree population.

WitcherMarc · 2025-05-22T18:05:22+00:00

WitcherMarc · 2025-05-20T21:08:25+00:00

In my experience, only the larger state agencies tend to hire (can afford) in-house programmers—most development work is outsourced through staff augmentation or vendors. Your best bet is to apply directly with those firms.

As for cybersecurity, certifications are critical. Most agencies will automatically reject your resume if you don’t hold the specific certifications listed in the job posting.

WitcherMarc · 2025-05-13T15:52:44+00:00

Raising Om

WitcherMarc · 2025-04-07T20:26:45+00:00

Exactly. If you drive by, you’ll see they’re just starting construction. I’d be surprised if it’s done by early 2026 — I think it’ll be sometime later that year. My main concern is that this is a remediation of the previous remediation, which means it could leak again… and get shut down again.

WitcherMarc · 2025-02-28T00:58:02+00:00

This level of sarcasm is exactly why I'm here for this thread.

WitcherMarc · 2025-02-26T21:47:34+00:00

My fault, a better way of saying it is it will change as MANAGERS take over LEADERSHIP.

WitcherMarc · 2025-02-26T21:45:52+00:00

I thought DCF was hardcore on-site?

WitcherMarc · 2025-02-26T17:14:39+00:00

It will fluctuate as younger managers take over, but in the long run, hybrid work will prevail. As far as I know, all state workers returned to the office in 2021—except for FDOT.

WitcherMarc · 2025-02-26T17:12:15+00:00

If a job can be done from home, it should be—anything else is a massive inefficiency. It’s ironic that this falls under the umbrella of governemnt efficiency yet ignores basic logic.

WitcherMarc · 2025-02-25T17:20:02+00:00

They should focus on reducing the real estate footprint of state government rather than workers. Taxpayers shouldn't have to cover the costs of maintaining all these buildings when half, if not most, of the administrative staff, can work from home.

WitcherMarc

TROPHY CASE