LtE: Pickleball Courts - Clarification of Article 14
There seems to be some confusion regarding article 14 of the Town Meeting warrant.
Yes, Finance Committee and Select Board members had questions and concerns regarding the cost of this project, but at the end of discussions, after careful consideration, the votes were unanimous. Finance Committee voted 9-0, and the Select Board voted 5-0, supporting moving forward with sending the article to Town Meeting for voting on funding these courts.
According to Assistant Town Manager, Jayne Wellman, there will be a motion at Town Meeting to reduce the total funds needed down to $1.5 million. This amount was arrived at by carefully reviewing and revising the estimate with the consultants. This general estimate does include significant contingencies. Additional time will not reduce the need for these contingencies.
The base bid package for this project will be for six unlighted courts. There will be required alternate pricing for seven unlit, and another required alternate for seven lighted courts. Whatever the qualifying low bid contractor is able to do at or under $1.5M is what will be built. One of the courts, be it six or seven, will be a larger adaptable court to enhance play by wheelchair players.
After careful consideration by the architect and Town staff, it has been determined that, although installing a post-tension slab involves a higher upfront cost, it will provide a more durable, lower-maintenance solution and, in the long run, prove to be more cost-effective given the issues with the current asphalt.
It should also be clarified that the town will not need to bear the burden of the entire $1.5m maximum project cost for these courts. The pickleball community has raised over $200,000 to donate toward this project, in fact just the last few weeks has seen the total of fundraising, pledges, and donations swell to over $213,000. All contributions to date have been from individuals. Once this article passes Town Meeting there will be additional fundraising opportunities which the RPPA will pursue.
Please urge the Town Meeting members in your precinct to vote yes on article 14. And if you are a Town Meeting member, please consider the importance of this long overdue asset to the town.
Joe McHugh RPPA
Middlesex Avenue
This LtE was edited from the original to include a link to the Finance Committee meeting whre Asst. Town Manager Jayne Wellman presented information on the pickleball courts.
