Council approves $75,000 contingency match for urgent Cook Park pickleball repairs

Rochester — The City Council voted June 16 to allocate up to $75,000 from general fund contingency to match park and community contributions to urgently repair and upgrade the Cook Park pickleball courts.

Denise Dupra, president of the Rochester Area Pickleball Association, and other players told the council the courts, resurfaced in 2021, are now unsafe and losing membership. Parks Director Paul Whitman described a funding breakdown: RAPA intends to contribute roughly $187,000, the parks pavement maintenance fund $50,000, and the park department requested a $75,000 contingency match from the council to complete the planned work (total estimate about $387,000). The proposed work would move beyond short-term resurfacings to a more durable concrete court surface with improved drainage and slightly wider walk aisles for player movement, extending the courts’ useful life to 15–20 years.

Council discussion focused on access and fairness — whether community partners should have preferential scheduling on the improved courts and whether the park board should have handled reprioritization within its existing budget. Parks staff said the park board has been briefed and that the partnership model is longstanding; the board will approve any modified contribution or scheduling arrangement. The council approved the contingency allocation on a 5–2 vote.

What happens next: Parks staff will finalize design and procurement; if actual costs exceed estimates, staff said they would work with RAPA to reconcile any difference and return to council if additional city funds are required.