SWAMPSCOTT — More than 50 residents gathered at Thursday night’s Pickleball Public Meeting to share their opinions on the potential addition of four courts for the popular sport at Phillips Park.
The hearing was led by Director of Community and Economic Development Marzie Galazka. She recapped how the town proposed borrowing funds from the Commonwealth’s Parkland Acquisitions and Renovations for Communities grant program in 2023. However, the article failed to reach a two-thirds majority at a special town meeting vote. The project has since been revived through a grant opportunity through the state’s Executive Office of Environmental Affairs.
“They offer funding for park projects,” Galazka said. “We submitted an application, and the town was granted $68,128 toward the construction of pickleball courts. Which I thought was great because we’re not using taxpayer dollars.”
She added that the grant can only be used for pickleball courts and must be installed in a town-owned space.
Attendees were then given the chance to share their thoughts on the prospect. Numerous concerns were raised, such as noise, parking, and location. Resident Steve Riley expressed that the noise of pickleball players is a greater annoyance than the equipment.
“The worst thing about living across the street from the courts is not the pickleball itself. It’s the grunting and groaning,” Riley said. “That is clearly the most enraging issue and chronic issue for the people who live right next door.”
Resident Martha Caesars questioned the town’s process in applying for the grant, claiming that the community was not adequately notified before the warrant was closed.
“You were supposed to include in the grant flyers that were distributed to town residents,” Caesars said. “I never received any notice or flier about the pickleball court.”
Galazka responded that she takes full responsibility for not including fliers in the grant process. However, other residents countered that point by calling on their peers to be more attentive to the municipal schedule of the town and engaging in the governmental proceedings overall.
Resident Neal Perlstein provided passionate comments against the addition, as he lives close to its planned location and believes that flooding will cause issues.
“Nobody told us and it was like it was trying to be slipped through,” Perlstein said. “And when it gets defeated, there’s another way that we’re going to do it…. I’m very upset about this, as you can tell, because it’s my home, and I don’t feel that the town is being honest with me about any of it.”
Multiple residents suggested a spot near the cemetery as an alternate location instead of Phillips Park.
“There are acres and acres of land up there,” Perlstein said about the cemetery site.
The pickleball courts are slated to replace some parking spaces at Phillips, and resident Tasia Vasiliou argued that the reduction in parking spaces could unfairly hinder residents like herself.
“Putting them in that parking lot is taking recreation away from people,” Vasiliou said. “I have a connective tissue disorder. I don’t talk about it a lot, but it causes me a lot of pain… if I have to hike it across from Humphrey Street all the way there, it makes it much harder, and it’s just going to deter people.”
Not all attendees had hesitations about the courts after seeing their impact in other municipalities, as resident Dan Santanello urged others to “see where it takes them.”
“I’m telling you there’s nothing that should be looked upon as it’s a bad thing,” Santanello said. “There are 80-year-old people out there who are playing like they’re kids again.”
He added that pickleball manufacturers have already advanced their abilities to craft products that create less noise when being used.
Regarding flooding, Galazka said that a water assessment will not be conducted until the warrant passes. This proposal only requires a simple majority to pass as opposed to the previous one.
