CLINTON

The Town Council has decided to look into developing an area of Indian River Recreational Complex (IRRC) near the baseball field into pickleball courts following pushback on the town’s original plan.

On July 6, the Town Council held a workshop to find a consensus on the next round of American Recovery Plan Act (ARPA) projects. Since it was a workshop, no plans were formally approved, but the council is expected to formally approve the projects at its next meeting, which is scheduled for

July 19. The funding for the projects will need to be approved at a town meeting which the council will need to schedule at the July 19 meeting.

At the July 6 meeting, one topic dominated the workshop: what to do about the lack of pickleball courts in town. Ultimately, the council devised a tentative plan to see a portion of land by the baseball field turned into three pickleball courts. The project is estimated to cost $157,000, though Town Manager Karl Kilduff noted that the project may cost a little more due to geotechnical work that will likely need to be done to ensure the project is feasible. The council plans to allocate a total of $209,000 for the pickleball project.

Other issues with the site will need to be cleared as well. Since there is a river in the area, the town would need approval from the Inland Wetlands Commission. There is also a service road and sundial in the area that would need to be moved. The money allocated to pickleball does not include pedestrian access or lighting for the project.

Pickleball, or more specifically, the lack of available pickleball courts, has become a major talking point in Clinton in recent weeks.

The sport has exploded in interest over the last five or so years among all ages, but it’s become particularly popular with older people who wish to stay active with a fun game that is easy to pick up and learn. Because pickleball courts are half the size of a standard tennis court, they’re often overlaid on existing tennis courts or, in Clinton’s case, painted on the basketball court at the IRRC.

Other shoreline towns have built their own dedicated pickleball courts that do not need to share space with other courts, but Clinton has not yet done so.

To alleviate the issue of the small number of courts in town, the Parks and Recreation Commission (PRC) recommended that the town use a portion of the ARPA money to fully replace the basketball court at IRRC with pickleball courts.

However, members of the public were staunchly against this plan and spoke up about their concerns at a public hearing on June 21. Immediately following the public hearing, the Town Council opted to cancel a town meeting originally scheduled for July 5, where residents were set to formally approve the next round of projects — including pickleball – that use ARPA money.

Limited Options

Instead of the town meeting, the council opted to hold a workshop on July 6 to further discuss what to do about pickleball.

In February, the town opted to use $10,000 of the ARPA funds to conduct a study to find suitable locations for pickleball courts after some members of the public addressed the Town Council on the need for the courts.

At a meeting in May, the PRC recommended resurfacing the basketball courts at the Indian River Complex as the most cost-effective solution for pickleball in town. A total of $146,000 was proposed to be allocated for the project.

Parks and Recreation Department Director Robert Potter explained that the earlier study showed that there was only a handful of potential places to put courts in town and that several of those potential spaces would have much higher cost estimates.

Some of those other options were discussed at the workshop. Any option to put the courts on property governed by the Board of Education was considered unappealing due to concerns about keeping visitors away from the school grounds while school was in session, limited parking while school was in session, and potentially limited times when people could use the courts.

Similarly, an idea to turn the upper parking lot at IRCC into pickleball courts was rejected due to the number of people who use the lot when events are being held.

The idea that overwhelmingly came out of the public hearing was that people supported pickleball courts in town, but not at the expense of taking away a basketball court that kids say they frequently use.

On the other hand, the desire for more pickleball courts in Clinton is a well-documented request. One speaker at the public hearing pointed out that some Clinton residents go to other towns to play, and she fears that other towns may restrict out-of-town guests in the future as the sport gets more popular.

Multiple speakers said that while they did not want to see the basketball court go, they did understand the need and desire for more pickleball courts in Clinton and hoped the town could accommodate both requests.

In addition to the pickleball courts, the next round of ARPA projects is proposed to include funding for the replacement of the artificial turf at IRRC, replacement bleachers at the Peters Complex, work at the beach bathhouse, continued nonprofit assistance, the public safety radio project, paving, and small public works projects. The council will set a date for the town meeting at its next meeting.