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Trustees debate Keener Park priorities — pickleball, baseball improvements and a $25,000 geofencing tool
Summary
Trustees discussed whether to prioritize pickleball courts or further investment in the Keener Park baseball complex, and heard staff describe a proposed geofencing subscription (Placer AI) priced near $25,000/year that could be used for parks, policing and economic-development analysis.
Trustees spent a substantial portion of the Jan. 28 meeting discussing recreational priorities at Keener Park and the broader parks program, weighing investment in pickleball courts against continued capital and maintenance spending on the township’s baseball complex.
Trustee Welch argued residents want pickleball courts and urged the board to build what community surveys indicate residents prefer. Other trustees and staff noted the baseball complex generates hotel-room demand and revenue (via hotel-occupancy-related funding streams) that has been used to justify past investments such as astroturf. Trustees discussed placeholder CIP amounts for nets, restroom remodels and underground repairs for the ball complex; staff said the $250,000 figure for netting and a $200,000 placeholder for other work were included in planning as contingency figures.
Township staff (Katie, economic-development/parks staff) described a subscription product called Placer AI (referred to in the meeting as “AI Placer”) that uses anonymized cell-phone–location data and algorithms to estimate visits, origin markets and dwell times; staff said a recent quote was about $25,000 per year and that multiple township departments (parks, police, economic development) could share access. Staff suggested the data could show whether nonresident visitors are coming for baseball tournaments or would come for pickleball events, helping determine return-on-investment and whether investments would attract out-of-town visitors who spend at hotels and restaurants.
Trustees expressed differing views about studies and additional expense: Trustee Welch said surveys already indicate demand for pickleball and opposed another costly study; other trustees supported using available analytics to quantify visitor origin and economic impact before committing major capital. Staff offered to arrange a demonstration of the software for trustees and to research alternatives.
No formal decision or procurement was made; staff said they would set up demonstrations and return with recommendations and cost comparisons to inform the board’s CIP decisions.
