SOUTH HADLEY — At its Aug. 12 meeting, the South Hadley Selectboard approved $175,000 in funding to fix the grading on its new pickleball courts at Buttery Brook Park, as long as that funding includes a $50,000 grant from U.S Pickleball and a $91,000 donation from the Friends of Buttery Brook Park.
The four new pickleball courts, which are part of a large renovation of the park that is just about complete, currently have a roughly 2% grade on the courts, which the designer claims is within ADA guidelines, but players claim is borderline unsafe and double the standard for pickleball courts.
Kim Prough, president of the Friends of Buttery Brook Park, spoke at the meeting to voice concerns about the safety of the project. She said that at some places on the courts the grade is higher than 2%, and that the standard for pickleball courts is .83-1%. Prough said that more than 300 people have signed a petition to have the court fixed and that every time she is at the courts, people come up to her and ask what’s going on with the courts.
Since the courts were designed to have a 2% grade, instead of the standard 1% grade, the town would have to put the project back out to bid and pay for the fix itself — an oversight that left several members of the board and community members who spoke concerned at how it was missed.
The additional cost comes at a time when the town is already facing significant increases in health insurance. The Hampshire County Group Insurance Trust recently voted to increase premiums to its members, including South Hadley town employees, by 20%, effective Oct. 1. The increased costs to towns mean that South Hadley will likely be looking at the need to pull from free cash mid-year and potential layoffs in the town, explained Town Administrator Lisa Wong.
Selectboard member Andrea Miles, who sits on the budget task force, described the current financial picture as “deeply grim” and voted against the funds for the pickleball courts, advocating for a “pause and wait” approach instead.
However, all other members of the board voted to approve the funds.
Wong explained earlier in the meeting that, given the newest financial news, she has real concerns about the financial situation of the town.
