Committee endorses clay-court conversion, approves trial pickleball scheduling change

The Atherton Parks & Recreation Committee voted to recommend converting the town’s clay tennis court to a hard surface and approved a trial change to pickleball reservation rules intended to give players more predictable access.

Chair Key opened the committee’s discussion of item 5B and staff summarized usage data and two conversion options: converting the clay court to a hard court or converting a handball court into two dedicated pickleball courts. Staff said monthly peak pickleball use typically ranged from about 200 to 250 hours, and that, under the town’s accounting approach, one hour of tennis play equates to four pickleball court-hours under the reservation multiplier.

Why it matters: Committee members said converting the clay court could free up more usable court time for both tennis and pickleball without adding net new acreage, whereas converting the handball courts would be a larger capital project requiring substantial fundraising. The committee noted demand is seasonal and that summer months can show lower usage despite four courts now striped for play.

Budget and procurement constraints were central to the debate. Staff (Robert) clarified that if the town contributes any funds to construction, the project becomes subject to prevailing wage requirements and the public contract code—steps that raise costs and require formal design and bidding. Committee members contrasted a privately managed contractor estimate (quoted as approximately $70,000 by a contractor, Saviano) with staff’s higher, prevailing-wage estimates for a town-funded project (ranges cited in discussion from roughly $150,000 to $300,000 depending on scope).

Fundraising route vs. town funding: Members discussed three approaches: (1) the council uses tennis-fund reserves (the town’s tennis fund was described as a little over $200,000 surplus), (2) a hybrid with the town contributing a portion and private donors covering the remainder, or (3) a fully private-funded conversion managed outside town procurement to avoid prevailing-wage cost inflation. Multiple members said the committee’s role was to recommend a conversion, not to specify exact funding mechanics; the council would take up funding decisions.

Formal action: The committee passed a motion recommending conversion of the clay court to a hard court. The motion was seconded and approved in a roll-call vote by the members present.

Reservation pilot and contract conversation: As an interim measure to relieve pickleball scheduling pressure while a conversion is pursued, the committee also approved a trial request that Player Capital and staff change the reservation window so pickleball players can reserve courts that would otherwise be held for tennis up to four days in advance (instead of the current one-day lead time). The change is a trial and staff will monitor effects on tennis reservations and key-holder use.

Contract negotiations with Player Capital were raised separately: some members urged staff to open discussions with Player Capital about clarifying court-time allocations when the contract extension is considered this fall; others counseled caution about attempting renegotiation at the time of an extension. Several members recommended staff and the subcommittee continue informal discussions and return with findings rather than mandating immediate contract changes.

What’s next: The committee’s recommendation on conversion will be forwarded to the Town Council for funding and policy decisions; the reservation lead-time trial will be implemented administratively and monitored, and staff was asked to engage with Player Capital and report back prior to the contract extension timeline.

Ending: The committee framed the conversion as a near-term operational recommendation while leaving funding responsibility to the council and potential private donors.