LEESBURG, Fla. – The city of Leesburg shuffleboard courts located on South Palmetto Street will formally close in November.
The city announced on Friday that the courts will close at 4:30 p.m. on Nov. 7.
“On August 25, 2025, the City Commission voted 4-1 to donate the site where the courts are located to the Forward Paths organization,” the city said in a statement.
Forward Paths is a nonprofit that helps homeless youth and those who are aging out of foster care. In 2024, the Forward Paths Foundation opened a 10 cottage “micro-community” in Eustis called Cottages on Grove.
Members of the Leesburg Shuffleboard Club were not happy with the news.
Leesburg Shuffleboard Club member Rick Tallman said the group has nothing against Forward Paths.
“The thing that really bothers me is that who from the city offered this property to Forward Paths?” Tallman said. “Was it a commissioner? Was it the city manager? That’s what question really needs to be answered.”
Tallman said the club hired an attorney because members felt like the city wasn’t listening.
“We have reached out as club members to each of the commissioners. With the exception of Commissioner Carnell, they’re not even willing to talk to us,” Tallman said.
Tallman also believes there could be a conflict of interest in the matter because Commissioner Jimmy Burry’s wife serves as the executive director for Forward Paths and his son is the president.
“We have an ethics complaint filed with the state ethics board because even though Commissioner Burry’s wife and son do not get paid, there is a part of the law that requires it has language in there about a disproportional benefit,” Tallman said. “And that’s what they would be getting out of this is a disproportional benefit.”
The transfer of the property is expected to take several weeks, so “normal activities at the shuffleboard courts are being permitted until end of business on November 7.”
The facility will be permanently closed after that time because the city will no longer own the property, the statement reads.
A notice of the upcoming closure has been posted at the site.