Jodi Summit
GREENWOOD TWP – America’s fastest growing sport is causing a stir in Greenwood Township.
How to equitably divide reserved playing time between tennis players and pickleball players at Greenwood’s only tennis court was on the agenda for Tuesday’s city council meeting.
A combination of badminton, tennis and table tennis, pickleball has a loyal and enthusiastic following of players, most of whom are of senior age.
According to the USA Pickleball Association, pickleball is fun, social, and friendly. The rules are simple and the game is easy to learn for beginners but can develop into a fast-paced, competitive game. Paddles are made of lightweight composite materials and the plastic balls have holes (like a wiffle ball). Pickleball is growing in popularity in this area and while it is generally played on pre-existing tennis courts (which accommodate two pickleball courts, one on each side of the tennis net), new courts have also sprung up in Ely and most recently the township of Kugler (at the town hall on the existing basketball court). Ely has a long-standing Pickleball program fostered through community education.
The municipality had previously posted the times on its website and on a sign at the tennis court, showing the court was open for tennis Mondays from 10am to 12pm and Monday from 8am to 10am and Tuesday to Friday from 10am to 12pm Reserved for Pickleball is 8:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. At other times the court was open to whoever got there first.
“Everyone wants to play in the morning,” said supervisor Sue Drobac.
“Tennis isn’t nearly as popular as pickleball,” Supervisor Barb Lofquist said. “I don’t see many people playing tennis.”
Gere Thompson, a pickleball player, said they began polling players on the court and counted two groups of tennis players and at least 10 groups of pickleball players. There is a regular group that plays tennis on Monday mornings.
On other mornings of the week, up to two dozen pickleball players come to play. In the doubles game, the court offers space for eight players at the same time, i.e. four on each court.
The board passed a motion to publish the opening hours for tennis on Mondays from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. and on Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. Pickleball hours are Tuesday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. The vote was 4-1, with Drobac voting against.
If nobody is on the pitch during this period, the pitch is open for both sports and on weekends.
The board also discussed whether or not to explore the possibility of building additional courts of law on the town hall site. The regulators noted that the community’s comprehensive plan called for there to be no more recreational development at City Hall. At last month’s meeting, the idea of privately raising funds for new courts was discussed.
“Physical activity is a good thing,” Lofquist said. “It would be great to have a Greenwood league.”
The community area has enjoyed increasing popularity in recent years and has been expanded to include a pavilion, a playground and bocce courts.
Chairman John Bassing pointed out that maintaining additional courts would be more expensive for the community.
Township resident Lee Peterson reminded the board that the original plan was to use private fundraisers to build two tennis courts. When private funds were not available, the board decided to take on the cost of building the single court, which cost around $55,000.
“The last thing we have to do is create any more negative feelings,” Peterson said. “People have to live together and not be aggressive out there.”
The idea of establishing additional courts did not materialize.
other business
In other matters, the Board shall:
• A motion was passed for Treasurer Jeff Maus to close the Isle of Pines Bridge Fund and send the balance of just over $39,000 to the Isle of Pines Property Owners Association. The fund consists of monies allocated to property owners in the construction of the new bridge to cover costs not covered by the grant received to rebuild the bridge. It was paid into a fund by the municipality to cover future repair costs. The money will now be used to pay for the maintenance of the private road on the Isle of Pines.
• I have heard that the broadband project is proceeding according to plan and work is underway on the Vermilion Reservation.
• I have yet to hear back from St.Louis County as to whether they are willing to plow Twp. Rd. 4136, Birch Point Extension.
• Will consider applying for a LRIP grant which would cover most of the cost of paving twp. Rd. 4136 and bringing the road up to county standard. The municipality submitted an application for the program in 2021, but was unsuccessful at the time.
• Still looking for a part-time cleaner for the town hall. If none is found, we will consider the cost of hiring a cleaning service.
• Bid for pruning work to Fenske Tree Service at a price of US$2,147. There was another offer, but Fenske’s offer was significantly lower.
• I heard that Supervisor Rick Stoehr is working with St. Louis County to resolve some fire number issues and officially name a small island in Smarts Bay.
• I heard the fire department had a busy month with 11 fire calls and 15 calls to 911s. In Bid 3, repairs were performed in-house, saving the department approximately $800 in the cost of replacing equipment and installing new batteries. Some repair work was also carried out on Tender 2 and it was converted for use as a brush wagon to fight forest fires. Repairs are also being made to the bilge pump system on the smaller fireboat stationed at Birch Point Marine.
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