Trustees weigh donor‑led plan to finish pickleball courts, consider naming rights

At the Feb. 10 meeting the Fairfield Township Board of Trustees discussed plans to complete a project reconfiguring an existing tennis court into four pickleball courts and one tennis court. Administrator Kimberly Lepensi said the township received a $35,000 Ohio Department of Natural Resources grant and that a $75,000 gap remains to finish the project.

Lepensi described a proposal to solicit sponsorships — for example, asking four donors to contribute about $12,500 each to cover four courts — and asked whether the board would be willing to permit naming rights if donors provide funding. Trustees generally supported pursuing external fundraising instead of using township dollars, with multiple members saying they would prefer to secure commitments before directing contractors to begin work.

Trustees raised implementation questions including whether sponsors would receive lifetime naming rights or time‑limited recognition, how to document terms in a legal agreement, and whether a partial funding threshold (for example, three of five courts funded) would be sufficient to start construction. One trustee said that if private donors could be found and legal terms were prepared, the project could proceed without tapping township funds; another emphasized the need to have written commitments in hand before starting.

The board also discussed the possibility of multiple donors sharing a court sponsorship if full single donors could not be found. There was no formal vote; trustees asked staff to pursue fundraising discussions and to return with draft sponsorship terms and cost estimates.