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Donation to resurface court draws praise — and heated concerns about pickleball lines
Summary
A donated resurfacing and line-painting for a town basketball court was accepted by the Board of Selectmen, drawing praise for the free paving and worries from Parks & Recreation members and residents about safety, planning and community process.
A donated project to resurface a Town of Blackstone basketball court and add new sport lines sparked a heated debate at the Parks and Recreation meeting on Sept. 9 as residents and board members hashed out safety and process concerns.
The donation, announced earlier to the selectmen, will include repainting court lines to allow multiple uses. Supporters said the gift would deliver free paving and make the court safer and more usable. “It was a great thing,” one board member said, noting the town had a $16,000 resurfacing quote previously. The donor also proposed adding lines to accommodate pickleball and street hockey.
But several Parks and Recreation members and residents said the commission should have been consulted before the Board of Selectmen accepted the donation. Board members raised practical questions about parking, fencing and whether basketball hoops and cars adjacent to the court create safety risks for sports that send balls at speed. One board member said the body’s role is to protect the town and stressed the need for a plan before wider public use is encouraged.
The discussion grew personal when resident Laurie — who helped secure the contribution — addressed the board and criticized the Facebook response the project generated. “If you want, I can make it go away and you guys won't even have the issue,” Laurie said during public comment, urging the boards to accept the gift and allow officials to work through logistics.
Board members described a compromise in which one court configuration would keep basketball on both courts but paint one set of lines for pickleball and another court for street hockey and basketball. Several members said they favor accepting the resurfacing and lines while continuing to plan how to manage safety, equipment and public access. Officials said engineering and parking layout work tied to the improvement will be handled by the town administrator and engineering staff.
Next steps: town staff and the selectmen will coordinate with Parks and Recreation on design and implementation; installation timing was described as ‘by the end of the month’ in the meeting timeline for donation processing but no firm public-install date was set.
