(PLEASANTON, CA.) – During their meeting on August 13, Pleasanton’s Parks and Recreation Commission discussed whether to implement a reservation system for the pickleball courts at Muirwood Community Park.
Assistant Library Director Michelle Crow presented the two different versions of reservation systems that staff came up with. According to Crow, staff reviewed pickleball courts within and outside of Pleasanton.
After these reviews, staff came up with two plans that both involved leaving half of Muirwood’s six pickleball courts free, while the other three could be reserved, as pictured below.
Photo Credit: YouTube / City of Pleasanton Public Meetings
The only thing that differentiates these plans are the amount people pay to rent the courts.
The first option entails charging residents $6 and non-residents $7.50, while the second would be free for residents, charging non-residents $7 an hour.
Following this short presentation, the commission asked questions.
Commissioner Rameshu Immadi inquired as to whether the revenue made with option 1 could be redistributed to the community in the form of scholarships or non-profits.
Staff went on to confirm that using the revenue in this way would be possible.
This question, however, sparked a memory for one of the staff members, who brought up the Tri-Valley Pickleball Club.
“[The club] contacted me a few times offline to talk about this and want to do anything they can to see a successful reservation system come forward. So, I would imagine that if we needed some additional monetary support, we might be able to talk to them as well,” she said.
Photo Credit: YouTube / City of Pleasanton Public Meetings
Staff also mentioned that they heard from many that they would pay if they could reserve a spot.
Other cities with pickleball court reservations are not so willing, as residents in Citrus Heights express dissatisfaction with their pickleball court reservation system.
On a more positive note, however, Citrus Heights city recently approved a sports center.
One commissioner questioned how the city will be making sure that people honor their reservations and leave when their time is up.
To this, staff responded that there will be signage up to remind the community to leave when their time is over, but that it will be mostly up to the residents to do the right thing.
They also pointed out that the residents already maintain and honor the paddle system they use to determine who will play next, which led staff to believe they would also uphold a reservation system.
A few commissioners made brief comments about the large number of people who usually wait at these courts for a chance to play.
Commissioner Joanne Hall shared that she personally plays on the Muirwood courts and that there are usually around 60-70 people waiting for a court every morning.
“You could theoretically be spending an hour and a half to two hours [waiting] to play four 15-minute games. This is why a reservation system would be great. At least half the courts would have an option to have a set time that you could play,” she says.
There was no debate within the commission on which option to choose, and the commission eventually came to favor option 1, where both residents and non-residents are charged to reserve the courts.
Before voting commenced, Hall had one last comment to make.
She suggested that residents should not be charged between the hours of 12 p.m. and 3 p.m. because that is when the courts are the least busy.
Though no amendment was made to the motion to accommodate this change, the commission expressed no opposition to the idea, with Chair Lisa Brown expressing support.
The commission unanimously passed option 1 as it was originally presented.
Photo Credit: YouTube / City of Pleasanton Public Meetings
To add or correct any information in this report, please contact me at madison.v@lead4earth.org.
0
0
Comments