SOUTHWICK — With no fanfare, unlike a formal groundbreaking ceremony, construction on the six pickleball courts at Whalley Park has begun.
“It’s great news,” said Chief Administrative Officer Nicole Parker.
On Aug. 11, a bulldozer was moving dirt at the lower end of the park where the project has been planned since 2023.
The start came after the Select Board approved the contract with Omasta Landscaping on June 8, a month after the Parks and Recreation Commission chose the Hatfield-based contractor.
The commission chose Omasta from five construction companies that submitted bids.
Omasta Landscaping Inc. is a contractor and full-service landscape company that also does general construction for parks, playgrounds, ballfields, splash pads and more for over 46 years, according to its website.
Omasta’s bid of $478,898 was significantly lower than the four other bids, which averaged $567,531.
The project was envisioned in the summer of 2023. Using an estimate of $207,990 for the construction of four courts at Whalley Park, residents approved that amount for the project at a Special Town Meeting in December 2023.
However, the subcommittee of the Parks and Recreation Commission believed that the $207,990 wasn’t enough after they researched the cost of building the four courts, and they went back to the drawing board.
After several months, the commission came back with a plan to build six courts at Whalley Park with lighting, fencing and a pavilion for shade at an estimated cost of $670,000.
In May 2025, Town Meeting approved the allocation of $462,000 to supplement the $207,990 already appropriated to start construction, with the expectation that construction would be completed by Aug. 25.
However, bid specifications were not ready until last January, and bid requests were released afterward. Bids then opened in late February with the expectation that the project would start by April.
The date was pushed back after confusion over the bid specifications, which were officially opened on April 14.
Parker said the contract stipulates that the project be largely completed by Oct. 30 and ready to open for play by Friday, Nov. 13.
She said those dates could change because of weather conditions and because the asphalt must cure for at least 30 days after the courts are paved before the surface coating is applied.
