Split Habersham vote advances plan to privatize county gymnastics program

Habersham County commissioners voted 3-2 on Dec. 3, 2024, to award RFP 2025-06, a solicitation intended to privatize the county gymnastics program, and authorized staff to negotiate with Neva Daniels, owner of North Georgia Reign Gymnastics. Commissioners Tench and Palmer dissented. The vote advances a possible transfer of operations but did not itself put a private operator in charge.

The decision matters because it could move responsibility for a county-run recreation program—and the leased space where it operates—from county government to a private business. With only one proposal submitted, the eventual negotiated terms would determine such practical questions as who operates the program, how the facility lease is handled and when any transition could occur.

Before the vote, the commission had directed that an RFP be sought for privatizing the gymnastics program. That process produced one proposal, from North Georgia Reign Gymnastics. When the item returned to commissioners on Dec. 3, they chose to award the solicitation and let county staff begin negotiating a final agreement rather than resolving the operating and lease details in the vote itself.

Daniels and North Georgia Reign Gymnastics were the sole respondents to the county’s request and were selected for negotiations. The commission’s division was explicit: Tench and Palmer voted against the motion, while three commissioners supported it. The minutes also record a question over whether Tench’s participation in the program required recusal; the county attorney advised that it was not a viable conflict requiring him to step aside.

The RFP award and the authorization to negotiate are completed county actions. A final operating agreement, however, remains a proposal to be negotiated, not an established transfer. The Dec. 3 minutes do not say that a contract was executed, that the gymnastics operation changed hands or that the lease for the current facility was transferred; the timing and terms of any implementation therefore remain unknown.

The next public indication of progress would be a county commission agenda item, executed contract or another county record that sets out the negotiated arrangement. Until then, residents cannot determine from this proceeding’s record whether the private transition will occur, how the lease would change hands or when North Georgia Reign Gymnastics might begin operating the program.