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Youth council seeks council approval for May 'Spring Social' with pickleball component
Summary
The Somerset youth council asked the town council to place a proposed May spring social on the April agenda; the two‑hour event would include pickleball, basketball, lawn games and social time. The tennis committee opposed use of tennis courts for pickleball but youth and several councilors supported further consideration.
The Somerset Youth Council presented a proposal to the town council to host a two‑hour spring social on a Saturday in May that would combine lawn games, basketball and a limited pickleball component.
Youth Mayor Ari Peters and youth council member Sarah Smith said the goal is to bring the Somerset community together for a single spring event. They told the council the tennis committee voted against using the tennis courts for pickleball but emphasized the committee had told them the final decision is for the council to make.
Several council members questioned the choice of the tennis courts rather than the basketball court. Council President Barr asked about space and crowd flow; youth council members replied tennis courts could accommodate multiple simultaneous pickleball games (two games per tennis court by splitting courts and using portable nets) and that the plan includes adjacent basketball games and social space so activities would be distributed across the lawn and courts.
Residents and one councilor raised safety concerns, asking whether fencing or other protections would keep balls from reaching Wisconsin Avenue and whether concurrent basketball and pickleball would create conflicts. Youth council representatives said they expect most equipment to be borrowed or donated and that the event will use sign‑up/first‑come rules for play to limit back‑and‑forth traffic between areas.
Town Attorney summarized legal precautions the town has used in past special events: sovereign immunity/local government tort limits apply, and the town can require participant releases for special events if the council requests them. The attorney also said the town routinely uses signed releases for other pool events and could do so here if the council wished.
Tennis committee concerns centered on the fear that a temporary event could normalize year‑round pickleball on courts reserved for tennis. Youth council and several councilors stressed this would be a one‑time spring social and recommended explicit communications and signage to make the event time‑limited.
Mayor and several councilors signaled enough support to send the item to the council agenda for April for formal consideration. The youth council was asked to prepare a town journal article summarizing the proposal, anticipated objections and the mitigation steps (signage, temporary nets, releases) for the April agenda packet.
The council did not take a formal vote on the event during this work session; members agreed to include the proposal on the April council agenda for a public hearing and decision.
