Council moves forward Powell Pavilion pickleball contract; tables broader capital surplus allocations for one week

The Finance Committee approved awarding the contract for the Northridge Powell Pavilion pickleball courts and voted to table a separate capital-surplus allocation item for one week to allow staff to reconcile remaining contingency and funding-agreement details.

During discussion, staff said the awarded contract for the Powell Pavilion pickleball courts was about $1.3 million while the project budget then held $727,000. To bridge the gap, staff reported $200,000 would come from the county under an existing funding agreement and roughly $426,000 would be taken from contingency within the RFFI fund (Reserve for Future Facilities/Improvements as discussed on the record). City staff and Councilman Crowe discussed multiple other proposed allocations from a roughly $1.2 million capital surplus previously identified, including $100,000 for the Boys & Girls Club capital campaign, $150,000 for the Metro Animal Shelter (city contribution toward construction/roof), a city share of $37,500 toward a $75,000 turf/green renovation at O'Connell (split with the county), $100,000 for citywide lighting and traffic-calming devices, and $600,000 proposed for neighborhood drainage projects. Council members emphasized the need for staff reconciliation before final approvals.

Councilman Crowe said he would verify numbers and return with updated figures, and staff agreed to prepare funding agreements for agency allocations and present the reconciled capital allocation on next week's agenda. The committee then moved the Powell Pavilion contract forward by motion; the related capital-surplus allocation item was tabled for one week.

A voice vote approved the pickleball contract award; the separate allocation item was tabled by voice vote for one week.