Howard county Pickleball Association Questions for Rec and Parks

October 6, 2012

Outdoor Courts, General:

Are there any plans for adding Pickleball court lines to existing tennis courts? For example at Rockburn, Centennial, Dayton and Warfield Pond, Alpha Ridge and Cedar Lane Park?

There are only two dedicated Pickleball courts in the county, are their plans for more dedicated courts? Where and When?

There are several existing tennis courts with lighting. Are there any plans to add pickleball lines to these courts?

Are there plans to add lighting to existing pickleball courts, Atholton, Locus Park, Schooley Mill or Western Regional?

Can Rec and Parks work with the Public Schools and have Pickleball lines added to the existing tennis courts making them multipurpose?

Can Rec and Parks create a reservation system to courts, and could Associations such as ours reserve them for block times?

Would you allow our Association to place secure storage containers for equipment. We see other organizations with storage sheds at many of our parks.

Courts, Specific to a Venue:

North Laurel Community Center, when the floor was resurfaced they removed our taped ”No Volley Line”. Badminton courts were painted but we never see badminton players at these courts, nor is there scheduled play. The staff has not allowed us to put our tapelines down. It makes the courts unusable. We had 20-30 players on Wednesdays and 40 or more players on Fridays. This is a great indoor facility that is underutilized.

Western Regional Park has lights for lacrosse, baseball and football. Can lights be installed on the tennis courts?

Indoor Courts:

Are there any plans for more indoor facilities that can be used for Pickleball? Meadow brook is hard to schedule, especially in the evenings, and the North Laurel court lines are not correct.

Tournaments and Clinics:

Are there any plans to host a yearly tournament?

Are there any plans to hold 3-5 day clinics?

Budgets:

How can HCPA and HCRP partner better to get more in sync with the budgetary planning process to expand the number of outdoor and potentially indoor pickleball courts and other playing opportunities for the future?

General Remarks:

Part of the Howard County Recreation and Park’s Mission is '... provide excellent parks, facilities, and recreation opportunities for the community...'

The vision statement is 'The Department of Recreation and Parks strives to deliver recreation and leisure opportunities that will improve the health and well-being of the community ...'

By limiting the number of tennis court conversions to multipurpose courts, the missions and vision statements are not being adhered to.

The Association and its members appreciate the involvement and efforts from Rec and Park staff in regards to the +55 Event. We want to be more collaborative in the future. If there are actions we can take to make this happen, please let us know.

Thank you for taking the time to address our questions and concerns. We look forward to our Town Hall on October 6^th, at 7:00 PM. A Zoom invitation is forth coming.

The Howard County Pickleball Association