Grey Highlands council has jumped on board with the idea to build four new pickleball courts at the arena complex in Flesherton.
At its meeting on Dec. 18, council voted to provide approval in principle to a plan from the Pickleball Club of Grey Highlands to raise funds for new pickleball courts that will be built on vacant land adjacent to the Flesherton arena.
In May, the club approached council about moving forward with a pickleball plan to add more courts. The club has seen its membership growing dramatically in recent years and the municipality does not have enough courts to meet demand.
“We believe that having the courts will be a tremendous asset to our community,” said club member Doug Alton, who spoke to council during the open forum portion of the meeting. “The time is right to put some courts in.”
The club plans to raise money for the project, which they have estimated will cost $150,000 - $200,000. Alton said the club has already been looking into grant opportunities.
With the decision, council did not make any financial commitment to the project. The staff report on the matter indicated that the municipality’s share for the project would be 25 per cent, but those details will be worked out later in the process once a formal plan is in place for construction of the courts.
Council provided approval in principle for the concept and also forwarded the project to the upcoming budget deliberations for further discussion. In addition, Deputy Mayor Dane Nielsen amended the resolution to ensure that council receives a full life-cycle cost report for the pickleball courts. Nielsen said it was important in terms of asset management for council to understand that there would be ongoing costs for maintenance and upgrades once the pickleball facility was in place.
“We need the asset management report to understand the full implications,” he said. “We need to get that projection before we make the decision and build.”
Mayor Paul McQueen also suggested that when the project is planned, lighting for the courts be considered. The mayor noted that it would be a shame to build the pickleball courts and realize after the project is complete that lights should have been included.
“I don’t know what all those components would cost. We want to make sure we don’t miss anything,” he said.
