Clinton Park and Rec Details Next Steps for Pickleball
Following a public hearing where citizens rejected the town’s plan to convert an existing basketball court into a pickleball court, the Harbor News spoke with the Parks and Recreation Director about the next steps.
Over the last six months or so, some residents have voiced a vocal outcry about the lack of pickleball courts in Clinton.
Pickleball is a racket sport that combines elements of tennis, badminton, and ping-pong. Each player uses a solid paddle to hit a plastic ball with holes in it back and forth across the net. Because the courts are half the size of a standard tennis court, they’re often overlaid on existing tennis courts or, in Clinton’s case, painted on the basketball court at the Indian River Recreation Complex (IRRC).
The sport has exploded in interest over the last five or so years among all ages, but it’s become particularly popular with older people who wish to stay active with a fun game that is easy to pick up and learn.
To alleviate the issue of the small number of courts in Clinton, the Town Council elected to use a portion of the town’s American Recovery Plan Act (ARPA) money to fully replace the basketball court at IRRC with pickleball courts.
However, members of the public were staunchly against this plan and spoke up about their concerns at a public hearing on June 21. Immediately following the public hearing, the town council opted to cancel a town meeting originally scheduled for July 5, where residents were set to formally approve the next round of projects using ARPA money.
Next Steps
Instead, the council opted to hold a workshop on July 6 (after press time for this article) to further discuss ARPA projects, including pickleball. No members of the public weighed in on any other project at the public hearing besides pickleball.
The Park and Recreation Commission (PRC) suggested converting the basketball court to pickleball courts.
In February, the town opted to use $10,000 of the ARPA funds to conduct a study to find suitable locations for pickleball courts after some members of the public addressed the town council on the need for the courts.
At a meeting in May, the PRC recommended resurfacing the basketball courts at the Indian River Complex as the most cost-effective solution for pickleball in town. A total of $146,000 was proposed to be allocated for the project.
Parks and Recreation Department Director Robert Potter explained that the earlier study showed that there was only a handful of potential places to put courts in town and that several of those potential spaces would have much higher cost estimates.
Now, Potter said the department is reviewing the other locations the study recommended.
“There are several other locations identified in the report, but they’re very, very expensive. Right now, we’re getting cost estimates,” Potter said.
Potter said the issue of where to put pickleball courts is a bit trickier than people seem to realize. A suggestion to put the courts at the town beach was rejected by pickleball players themselves, who said the beach would be too windy to be a good location.
Meanwhile, Potter said there isn’t an appetite right now to pursue land that falls under the Board of Education’s jurisdiction since there would likely be restrictions on when the courts could be used while school was in session.
Right now, Potter said the department is focusing on potential sites that fall under PRC control, including potential locations at IRRC that are not the basketball court. “But we really need the full cost estimates first before anything can be done,” Potter said.
Potter said the ultimate decision on what to do next will lie with the town council. “We got the input at the public hearing, and now we’re looking at other town-owned areas. Once we get the full cost estimates, we can go from there,” Potter said.
The overwhelming majority of the speakers at the meeting had one message: please keep the basketball courts. Speakers told the council how the courts are frequently used and argued it would be unfair to remove the courts that are already often used by kids in favor of a new use that is primarily catered to adults.
On the other hand, the desire for more pickleball courts in Clinton is a well-documented request.
Maureen Wellman explained at the hearing that Clinton is one of the only shoreline towns that does not have its own area that is solely dedicated to pickleball courts. Some Clinton residents go to other towns to play, but Wellman said she fears that other towns may restrict out-of-town guests in the future as the sport gets more popular.
Several speakers said that while they did not want to see the basketball court go, they did understand the need and desire for more pickleball courts in Clinton and hoped the town could accommodate both requests.