The Barrhead Pickleball Club has a problem, they have outgrown their current location. The good news is that they have a solution, but need the town’s help to solve.
That is what a delegation from the club told Town of Barrhead councillors during their April 23 meeting.
Pickleball is a racquet sport, which is played by two to four players, that combines aspects of badminton and ping-pong and is played on a shrunk-down version of a tennis court.
The sport was first introduced to the area in 2013 as part of the joint Barrhead—Westlock 55 Plus Alberta games, but quickly fell out of popularity.
In 2016, the sport was reintroduced to Barrhead when a small group asked the parks and recreation department to convert two of the town’s tennis courts into dual-use courts.
They meet, Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays.
In the fall, winter, and springtime they meet at Barrhead Elementary School (BES), while in the summer they meet at the Agrena’s outdoor ice rink.
It should be noted that the town parks and recreation department helped the club convert the ice-rink to a pickleball facility by purchasing two temporary nets as well as the materials needed to mark out the courts.
Chair Marcia Moon said they have outgrown both locations and are hoping to build a permanent covered outdoor facility and have received a $10,000 grant from Makeadiff Sports, an Alberta-based not-for-profit organization created to encourage the growth and development of amateur, to help make that happen. The grant is the second they have received from the organization. About a year ago they received a $5,000 grant, which the club used to offset their startup costs.
“It is time sensitive. We are required to show them what we have done with the money by March 2020 or we risk forfeiting the grant,” interjected treasurer Judy Bohn, noting before the club can go much further they need to have confirmation from the town about a potential site. “Basically it’s in your ballpark now and whether you feel this is a valid activity for Barrhead that you would like to see continue.”
Coun. Leslie Penny asked if they had approached the County of Barrhead for funding.
“We have presented to the county but it was really more to see what type of support there would be and they were very enthusiastic about it,” she said, noting Coun. WalterPreugschas is a regular attendee. “I’m not sure if there is an opportunity for you to approach them to see if some kind of cost-sharing agreement is possible for the building of an outdoor pickleball court.”
In September 2017, a delegation asked county councillors for $400 to purchase additional pickleball nets but were declined as the town and county stating they were waiting to see what the decision of the arbitrator made regarding a recreation funding sharing agreement between the municipalities.
Under the terms of the agreement, the county will contribute 0.03403 per cent of the average of the total taxable assessment for the core operating costs of the aquatics centre, curling rink, and Agrena.
At the time, then deputy reeve Bill Lee, while he commended the group for its work said, “[County of Barrhead] is the third poorest rural municipality in Alberta, primarily because we don’t have an industrial tax base. I don’t believe tax dollars should be used in this manner. I think private money should finance this.”
Moon said the club was willing to contribute towards the building of a permanent court, by applying for grants and fundraising, but until they had a site for the facility, that would be difficult.
“There is significant funding available, but you can’t apply for something unless there is something solid, like having a site,” she said.
Coun. Smith said asked them what their ideal facility would look like.
Director Chuck Nicols said ideally they would like to have an eight-court facility and suggested the current skate park or the area behind the tennis courts as possible sites.
However, he said he did have concerns about the condition of the concrete and underlying ground of the skateboard park.
“I don’t want to diminish, but it has to be structurally sound, and that would be up to you guys to decide if it is worth putting the money into it, but we would love to have the town jump on board for an eight-court facility,” Nichols said.
Smith said more information was needed before they made any decision, first and foremost how much such a facility would cost.
Moon said without knowing the site and its condition it is a difficult question to answer.
“I have the plans from Cold Lake where they developed an eight-court facility, for $250,000 but they had to do a lot of work to rebuild the subsurface,” she said.
Coun. Penny and Smith reiterated that the county needed to be involved in the discussion.
“Everyone knows the issues we’ve had about recreation, but I think as municipalities, it is time to move forward and start thinking as one community and whether the recreational facility is in the town or county we all benefit from it,” Smith said.
