About Palm Harbor Parks & Recreation
Palm Harbor Parks and Recreation is a nonprofit organization that manages county property. All facilities we manage (except for Palm Field) are owned by Pinellas County and operated by Palm Harbor Parks and Recreation.
Palm Harbor Parks and Recreation along with the Palm Harbor Library is governed by a volunteer board, the Palm Harbor Community Service Agency (PHCSA, pronounced Fix-sa). PHCSA was created in 1985 per Pinellas County Ordinance 85-28 to provide library and recreation services to the residents of the Palm Harbor Community Services District, a municipal services taxing unit. Voted on by the residents of Palm Harbor, this county ad valorem tax of 0.5 mills is distributed to library and recreation services. All other monies needed to operate are raised by each entity.
Palm Harbor Parks and Recreation has no membership fee. Some programs are free to the public and some require a minimal charge. We partner with various sports organizations to bring quality recreation to our fields. We look forward to serving as many residents as we can!
- Click the link below to read Pinellas County Ordinance
- Pinellas County Ordinance, Article VI. - Palm Harbor Community Services District.
PHCSA Meeting Agendas
The Agency is responsible for the management of all library and recreation department funds and hires the directors of the Palm Harbor Library, East Lake Community Library, and Palm Harbor Parks & Recreation. On October 1, 2014, the East Lake Recreation Services District was created and also falls under PHCSA’s umbrella. Governed by a eight-member board of directors, each appointed to a 2-year term, the Board meets on the third Wednesday of each month at 7:00 pm. Each month, a different department will host the meeting at one of its facilities. For the next meeting, please call 727.771.6000.
Origin and History
The Centre was built in 1999 as the Palm Harbor Senior Center with Penny for Pinellas funds, grants from the state of Florida as well and a significant land-sale proceeds contribution from the North Pinellas Community Action Council. A beautiful cornerstone of our community, it fell into financial trouble within four years because it didn’t have any steady, ongoing funding. At that time, Parks and Recreation was operating out of a small, local house that had been outgrown. Both groups needed a partner.
What started as an experimental merger was a success and the ‘‘marriage” of the Senior Center and Parks & Recreation was made permanent in 2004. Since then, it operationally became known as Parks & Recreation, the Senior Center, the Activity Center and probably a few other variations on those names.
Why Palm Harbor Parks & Recreation? Why in 2012? It was time. Time to get everyone on the same page. Time to unify our multi-generational programming under one, easily remembered name. And, time to take our place as the center of all things community in Palm Harbor.
Palm Harbor has a rich history, just like its parks, recreation and senior community programming. Since 1985, PHCSA (pronounced Fix-Sa) – the Palm Harbor Community Service Agency – has been the governing agency responsible for providing leisure services to the residents of Palm Harbor.
The new umbrella of Palm Harbor Parks & Recreation brings it all together for parks and recreation and the community center. The stage is set to provide continued support and generate income to sustain our commitment to affordable and accessible programs and services, and firmly establish a course for sustained growth and expansion.
As we look ahead, we are all confident that Palm Harbor Parks & Recreation and all of its facilities, parks and multi-sport complexes will continue to be the center of the best of Palm Harbor and continue to enjoy a symbiotic and close relationship with the community that founded it.