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Mercer Island staff propose court‑allocation policy to protect drop‑in pickleball play; commission asks for tighter limits on special events
Summary
Recreation staff presented a draft sport‑court allocation and use policy that keeps drop‑in play as the priority, limits private reservations and proposes blackout months for tournaments at Luther Burbank Park. Commissioners asked for stricter limits on special events and clearer rules to prevent instructors or groups from monopolizing courts.
Recreation staff presented a draft sport‑court allocation and use policy on Nov. 6 aimed at protecting drop‑in play on Mercer Island’s tennis and pickleball courts while providing limited, fee‑based avenues for private reservations, ongoing programs and special events.
The most newsworthy point: the draft places drop‑in play as the primary use for all courts and would restrict private reservations to a limited number of courts and time windows so that instructors or commercial providers cannot monopolize facilities. Staff emphasized fees would apply to private reservations; city‑run programs would remain under department control and exemptions for school or city uses would be reviewed by the department director.
What staff proposed
Ryan Daley, recreation manager, told the commission the policy would:
- Treat drop‑in use as the default for all courts and preserve posted rotation and time‑limit expectations; - Allow private reservations on a small subset of courts for limited time windows with a proposed…
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