New pickleball courts are paddling their way to Paso Robles after the City Council approved a $4 million project for Sherwood Park.
In a 4-1 vote on Nov. 19, the council awarded a $3.3 million contract to JJ Fisher Construction as part of approving a little more than $4 million total for seven new pickleball courts, new bathrooms, and a parking lot.
Public Works Director Freda Berman told the council that the funds for the project are coming from multiple sources, including about $350,000 from park development fees and $830,000 from American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds, which were dedicated in 2021 to build pickleball courts when the estimated cost was $1.2 million.
An increase in labor, materials, and design costs means the project needed about $3 million more to become a reality, Berman explained.
The council decided to reallocate the remaining $3 million from ARPA funds dedicated to the city’s South Vine Street bridge project budget, a project anticipated to start construction in 2025.
“If the City Council were to reallocate the ARPA funds, staff does not believe it will create a significant impediment to meet the deadlines under the agreement to construct the bridge,” the Nov. 19 staff report read.
Councilmember Chris Bausch, who voted against the motion, said he took issue with taking funds from the bridge project.
“I’m not so sure taking money from another project, the South Pine Street project, is the wisest thing that we can do,” he said. “We are, in essence, asking taxpayers to fund the pickleball courts and the other improvements that are needed at Sherwood Park.”
And while at least 10 people said they supported the new courts at the meeting, some expressed opposition including Linda George, a City Council candidate who is likely to lose based on Nov. 23 preliminary election results.
George used her time to take a jab at City Manager Ty Lewis, who she’s called her nemesis, in addition to speaking against the pickleball courts.
Interjecting the words “pickleball court” between some of her sentences, she accused City Manager Lewis of “harassing” her on social media for opposing the pickleball courts.
“If you’re going to bring the city manager back, you have got to put him in control … he’s still harassing the people he says are harassing him on social media,” she said. “So, something needs to change.”
Additionally, George asked the council not to use funding from I-24, a sales tax measure that’s currently passing and intended to improve local road conditions.
“We have all suspected [I-24] to backfill any kind of, I wouldn’t say misappropriation, I would say misdirected funds. A pickleball court in 2024 is not a priority in this world,” she said.
Interim City Manager Chris Huot and Treasurer Ryan Cornell denied that any funding from I-24 would be used for the project.
Councilmember Steven Gregory, who has likely secured another term on the City Council based on preliminary results, reiterated that the pickleball project isn’t just for pickleball courts, but for improving Sherwood Park.
“About 25 percent of the projects are for pickleball courts, the other 75 percent for our youth who use this park. And if you want to do the numbers, it’s probably well into 100,000 kids and parents who come out and play baseball, play soccer, play softball—every sport there is,” he said. “So the funds that are going into this project are not just pickleball funds.”
With the council’s approval, construction is anticipated to start in Sherwood Park as early as April 2025 and be completed by early 2026. Δ
This article appears in Nov 28 – Dec 8, 2024.
