Washington to consider pickleball courts

WASHINGTON - New pickleball courts could be in Washington's future.

A community group has been working to add pickleball courts to Washington and is now asking for help from the city for funding.

The Washington City Council will discuss applying for a $5,000 Washington County Riverboat Foundation grant to fund a portion of the pickleball courts on Tuesday.

In a request letter to the city, Keith Lazar outlined the plan and need for outdoor courts.

Lazar said pickleball has been a popular activity in the community and surrounding communities.

The Washington YMCA has been providing pickleball lessons on Wednesdays with three courts. The Y offers play time every weekday. Lazar said there are frequently new faces and a few times in the fall all of the courts were full.

He said the Washington Middle School and High School also have been playing for the past few years.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Lazar said some players are staying away from the Y. He said other people are unwilling to join the Y to play.

In the area, Mt. Pleasant, Fairfield, Kalona, Pella, West Branch and Sigourney have all added or plan to add outdoor pickleball courts.

This led to the consideration of an outdoor court in Washington.

There were three possible options Lazar outlined: building new at the Wellness Park, creating two to three courts at the skate park or resurfacing the tennis courts near Case Field for both tennis and Pickleball.

The last option is the best and most economical choice, Lazar said. Lazar outlined why the court would have to be resurfaced.

In 2012, the surfaced was modified to have interlocking plastic tiles. Lazar said the surface is now uneven and becomes slippery.

'A group of Pickleball players tried chalking and playing on the courts,” he said. 'There were too many dead spots and they didn't like the tiles. They felt they were dangerous.”

If the court were remodeled, it is proposed to have two tennis courts and four pickleball courts.

Lazar presented a bid from L.L. Pelling. The bid is for: removing the fence for court access, removing the tennis nets and posts, filling in the cracks, leveling the surface, adding new asphalt, covering the new surface with an acrylic coating, reinstalling the tennis court nets, paint lines for two tennis courts and four pickleball courts and reinstalling the fence.

The bid is for $57,975.

An additional $1,400 for nets and an unknown amount for benches would be added.

'We believe we could find volunteers to make two benches for the cost of the material,” Lazar said. 'We would like to keep the total project cost to below $60,000.”

The Washington Iowa Betterment Foundation and The Brinton Trust have both committed $10,000 each payable over three years.

At the Tuesday night meeting, the council will discuss the grant application as well as possibly committing to fund the local match needed to complete the project, being repaid with other grant funds over three years.

Because the tennis courts are school property but maintained by the city, Superintendent Willie Stone recommended the school board approve the project, according to the letter.

The project would start in May or June.

'This is a great quality of life enhancement to Washington with no age or gender restriction,” Lazar said.