Habersham approves Merit Concessions deal as county takes over youth sports

Habersham County commissioners unanimously approved a contract March 20, 2023, with Toccoa-based Merit Concessions to operate Parks and Recreation concession services, placing a private operator at stands serving youth softball, baseball and volleyball programs the county had taken over. The commission’s minutes record a motion, second and 5-0 vote, and say Merit will return 25% of profits to the county.

The agreement affects the day-to-day experience of families attending county youth games as well as a potential revenue stream for Habersham. A concession arrangement can determine who stocks and staffs the stands and how sales are handled, while the county’s return depends on what profit remains after expenses. The minutes establish the 25% profit-share provision, but not the financial details needed to assess its eventual value.

The county’s need for an operator followed its absorption of youth softball, baseball and volleyball programs into the Recreation Department. Commissioners listed a Parks and Recreation concession-services contract on their March 20 agenda, then acted on that same item during the meeting. The meeting minutes show the proposal moved beyond consideration when the commission approved the Merit contract unanimously.

County government and the Recreation Department were seeking a way to run concession operations after assuming responsibility for the youth programs, according to the meeting minutes. Merit Concessions, based in Toccoa, was selected to provide that service and pay the county 25% of profits. Families using the recreation programs are the residents most directly affected by how the stands operate, although the minutes do not record public comment or competing vendor positions on the contract.

The contract approval is completed: the official meeting minutes document a unanimous 5-0 commission vote. The agenda, by contrast, only shows the item was scheduled for consideration. The record does not state the contract term or a dollar value, and it does not specify which stands or seasons are covered, what costs are deducted before profit is calculated, or whether the county has received revenue under the arrangement.

No later official action or upcoming public step is identified in the linked record. The remaining questions are practical and financial: the final operating terms, the scope of concession service and the amount of any county proceeds. Future commission records or contract materials would be needed to show how the approved arrangement was carried out and whether it produced the anticipated revenue share.