With budget season imminent, the Parks and Recreation Commission is setting out to try and get its share of capital projects, including some new ones it would like to see funded. In particular, the prospect of more pickleball courts looms large on its priority list.
At this time, however, it’s still unknown whether FEMA will reimburse the town for the cost of dredging Merwin Meadows, which it must do in order to reopen the recreation facility by Memorial Day, as hoped. The project is estimated to cost between $400,000 and $600,000, and without FEMA funds the town will have to foot that bill if it wants Merwin Meadows open.
The Parks and Recreation Commission met on Wednesday, Jan. 14. Though Parks and Recreation Department Director Steve Pierce provided commissioners with some incomplete budget numbers on his department — and they were discussed publicly — the public was not provided with copies of what they were talking about.
Pierce specified, however that capital requests for repairs to Veteran’s Memorial Stadium at Wilton High School and around $300,000 for four more pickleball courts will be the priority requests.
Chair Alix Korpan expressed her advocacy for the courts, stating that four still wouldn’t be enough.
“We’re at the point now where it’s not even like an amenity that would be nice, it’s expected,” Korpan said, “so I would think that if we’re really trying to improve the recreational experience for people who live in this town, I mean our pickleball courts — or lack thereof — a few people trying to share one space — feels massively inadequate.”
“It’s just such a growing sport,” she said.
Pierce concurred, noting that there were currently college pickleball teams and potentially high school teams coming soon.
“Pickleball is coming from senior level and dropping down,” Pierce said. “There’s more and more younger folks playing the game.”
Pierce said that the last price quotes he had received were two courts for $134,000, three courts for $197,300, and four courts for $268,000, excluding certain lighting costs. With contingency, he said it would probably be $300,000 for four.
“We’re looking at the site across from where the tennis courts are or where the pump house is,” he said.
Although the Town hadn’t posted an agenda for the Wilton Capital Planning Committee as of Monday night, Jan. 19, Pierce said he was tentatively scheduled to appear before the WCPC this week to present his requests for capital projects linked to his department.
“This is 1,000 percent something that needs to be on the bonded capital requests list … I think if this got in front of the town it would be a pretty close-to-unanimous vote for support,” Korpan said.
Pierce said his plan is to put together a roadmap of future needs that, regardless of where they will be fall with the WCPC, should be kept as priorities, even if they end up having to go toward the operating budget. Among these are renovation of the Merwin Meadows bathhouse, renovation of the Parks and Grounds barn, replacement of the gym at Comstock Community Center and replacement of the HVAC Unit at Comstock.
“For conversation this year for [the] budget, I definitely want to put the repairs to Memorial Stadium in and I think the other thing that I think we should be looking at is the pickleball courts,” Pierce said.
Pierce said that his budget is still incomplete because he’s waiting for the Finance Department to add in salary and benefit numbers, which he noted was the main driver of the budget.
“Town Hall puts those in in based on union contracts … When that’s entered I’ll be sending you a full copy,” Pierce told commissioners regarding his budget.
There were few numbers publicly referenced aloud — although commissioners spent a portion of the meeting reviewing this preliminary budget document from Pierce and sharing their thoughts — it was noted that there was a large jump in funds budgeted for recreational swimming at Merwin Meadows.
“This year we’re going to have a full compliment of lifeguards,” Pierce said, where last year staff there was confined to limit individuals guarding the area to prevent people from going near the pond, which was closed.
In other news, Pierce said that the Guy Whitten Field lighting project was running smoothly.
Korpan asked Pierce if everything was square regarding the contracts for the work, as an issue arose around First Selectman Toni Boucher signing the paperwork to authorizing the work without getting proper Board of Selectmen approval. Pierce said the matter had been resolved.