HomeMy WebLinkAbout3/4/2020 Item 4, Hernandez (2)
Wilbanks, Megan
From:lanny <
To:Advisory Bodies
Subject:PRC Communication
3 Minute Comment
I, like many of my colleague pickleball players, was flabbergasted upon reading
the Parks and Recreation staff report. As you have heard, personal experience
and court usage data overwhelming support the need for more playing time, not
less.
Let me summarize your options, as I see them:
1. You can endorse the staff recommendations and rescind the progress that
has been made for adding healthy play for pickleball players of all gender
and ages.
or
2. You can recommend a schedule for pickleball play that remains as it
currently exists in practice:
a. Pickleball in the mornings on Sunday, Monday, Thursday and Friday
b. Tennis priority in the mornings on Tuesday and Wednesday with the
option that a vacant court can be used for pickleball
c. Drop-in play for Tennis and Pickleball in the afternoons and on
Saturday with a time limit on court time.
or
3. You can recommend that the schedule for pickleball be expanded NOW to
support the current need and the master plan by allocating 7 mornings per
week for pickleball play.
Local tennis players have an under used court at Islay Park. Islay Park is less
than ½ mile away.
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or
4. My choice, support the master plan NOW by allocating the lower court to
pickleball so the Pickleball Club can have the court lines repainted for
pickleball use, with nets that can be moved on and off the playing surface.
Upon analysis, the staff proposed schedule actually leaves pickleball with less
court time than before the new courts were created in 2019.
The intent of the 2016 agreement was to see if the need would be confirmed by
actual use. Actual use and behavior has created an ad hoc schedule that has been
working. Rules must stand the test of actual usage and workability. Staff’s desire
to take control for the purposes of providing “consistency in messaging and
standardizing the appropriate activity” should not be more important than
meeting the needs of the community activity.
The SLO Pickleball Club’s only purpose is to enhance the ability for all community
members to learn, develop and play pickleball. It does that by supporting Group
Play times for all comers so that anyone can find partners, competitors, facilities
and balls while assuring fair play time allocations.
I do not see how you can ignore the actual use experience in supporting the staff
recommendations. You must reject the staff recommendations.
Lanny Hernandez
2060 Wilding Lane
SLO
lanny@m4hz.com
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