NAHANT — The town’s pickleball enthusiasts announced at the Finance Committee meeting Tuesday that they would like to have dedicated pickleball courts in town, separate from the tennis courts at the Flash Road Park and are willing to wait until the fall to ask the Community Preservation Committee for funding.
In exchange, they would like the town to put temporary pickleball lines on the tennis courts and a net that can be raised and lowered to accommodate both sports at the Flash Road Park over this summer.
“We don’t wish to have people feeling ill feelings about pickleball and tennis fighting each other for court time or use of court property,” said Nahant resident Sandy Burton on behalf of the town’s pickleball community.
He said that 225 people have signed a petition asking for permanent pickleball installation.
“We are trying to serve those people,” said Burton.
The pickleball lovers in Nahant have already independently raised $7,400 that can be used as seed money for a CPC grant, Burton said. In the meantime, their community would still like to use the tennis courts to play pickleball this summer.
To facilitate scheduling between pickleball and tennis players at the Flash Road Park courts, Burton suggested using an online tool, like other towns and Nahant Country Club do, which could cost the town several hundred dollars for the software.
“I think your approach here, taking a step back, is commendable for trying to avoid that conflict between tennis and pickleball,” said Peter Barba, member of the finance committee.
“Pickleball is a great opportunity for our aging populace,” said another finance committee member Daniel McMackin.
Town Administrator Antonio Barletta also commended pickleballers. He said he might have overlooked some of the opposition that came from the tennis players that have been waiting to get new tennis courts for so many years.
He was open to the proposal of adding pickleball lines to the tennis courts, Barletta said, but needed to check with the town’s legal counsel whether the funds appropriated by the Town Meeting could be used for these temporary additions.The Town Meeting has appropriated money last year only for the basketball and tennis courts renovations without any mention of pickleball in the article, Barletta said.
“If for some reason we can’t,” Barletta said. “I would be happy to find a way to help the pickleball folks find a temporary solution somewhere in town.”
Alena Kuzub can be reached at [email protected].
