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Parks and Environmental Commission Regular Meeting Minutes December 20, 2021 Page 3 1 2 VII.OTHER BUSINESS. 3 A.4 Concept Review for Dedicated Pickleball Courts 5 6 City Manager Charlie Yunker explained that St. Anthony has experienced a growing interest 7 in pickleball and as such, the Parks and Environmental Commission has been presented with 8 regular updates on the topic. At its previous meeting on September 13, 2021, the Commission 9 was presented with three options to repair the condition of the tennis court on Silver Lane 10 with shared striping for pickleball. Since that time, the cracks have been filled, sealed, and 11 painted. In the meantime, Saint Anthony staff have been pursuing options to add pickleball 12 courts to the City’s Parks system. Discussions consisted of adding pickleball striping to the 13 newly reconstructed tennis courts near City Hall, reconstruction of the tennis court with 14 shared pickleball striping on Silver Lane, constructing pickleball courts in the existing hockey 15 rink at Central Park, or finding available green space for construction of new pickleball 16 courts. 17 18 Mr. Yunker displayed a diagram of the tennis courts and City Hall and explained they are 19 heavily used by local and non-local residents and the High School tennis teams for tennis 20 play, the tennis court on Silver Lane has limited capacity for expansion due to a lack of 21 existing infrastructure, and available green space is very limited in the City. He explained that 22 a proposal was pursued by City staff to construct pickleball courts in the hockey rink at 23 Central Park. The proposal has been received and reviewed and would include excavation, 24 grading, paving, and striping. The cost proposal received is $75,000. 25 26 Mr. Yunker asked the Commission to discuss and provide feedback for the City Council on 27 the following: 28 Is adding dedicated Pickleball courts somewhere in the park system is a priority for the 29 City? 30 If so, is the Central Park ice rink the best option? 31 Any other aspects the City Council should consider 32 33 Commissioner Niemi asked if there were any concerns with putting ice over the blacktop. 34 35 Mr. Yunker explained there are ways to do that by putting a membrane in between. This does 36 mean that a pickleball court will wear out faster than a tennis court because ice would 37 purposefully be put over concrete. 38 39 Commissioner Reed asked how many Pickleball Courts the City could get in that space. 40 41 Mr. Yunker explained six could be squeezed in to the space. More discussion will happen if 42 this is approved. 43 44 Chair Bellinger asked if the hope would be that these Pickleball Courts would be used for 45 tournaments. 46