11/15/2022 Edition of the Medina Gazette
City, school district decide on plan for pickelball courts
Sara Crawford The Gazette
MEDINA - The city of Medina will likely see an increase in the near future in the number of locations to play pickleball as city officials are working with Medina Schools to bring several courts to A.I. Root Middle School.
Pickleball combines elements of tennis, badminton and ping-pong. The game is played on a badminton-sized court with a modified tennis net, using a paddle and a plastic ball with holes.
The Medina Pickleball Association is a 501(c)(3) and has over 150 members from within Medina County and other surrounding counties.
According to Medina Parks Director Jansen Wehrley, there are a number of shared courts throughout the city including one at Sam Masi Park and two at Ken Cleveland Park. In addition, there are five courts in the Medina Community Recreation Center's fieldhouse, with availability in the morning.
Wehrley said that options have been discussed for over a year and a half to find a designated court for pickleball within the city limits.
"Pickleball is a growing sport…," Wehrley said. "We need to explore our options for building some dedicated courts in the city."
During Medina's public properties meeting held in October, several options were presented to the council members, the city's administration and the audience.
The first option presented was to convert one of the tennis courts to two permanent pickleball courts at Ken Cleveland Park on Ken Cleveland Drive.
If the city opted for that plan, it would cost about $38,000 to patch cracks and install an acrylic resurfacer, along with installing nets, a divider fence and lines.
"This would be the most cost-effective way to get a couple (of) courts," Wehrley said.
According to Wehrley, this option would not be a complete rebuild but, it would buy the city a few years before having to address the courts again.
The second option presented was to install four brand-new courts at Ray Mellert Park, which would be placed in the green space adjacent to the new parking lot. This would cost approximately $166,000 for the city.
City officials decided to choose the third option, which would demolish the two existing tennis courts at A.I. Root Middle School to install six new pickleball courts. This project would be done in collaboration with Medina Schools, splitting the project's estimated cost of $194,000 between the city and school district.
According to Ward 4 Councilman Jim Shields, the tennis courts at A.I. Root are 27 years old and would need to be repaired anyway. Shields also spoke with Medina Schools' board of education and facilities committee, which both showed interest in the projects.
Wehrley said that he had met with Shields, Medina Schools' Director of Business Affairs Ryan O'Cull and Medina Schools' maintenance manager Steve Mishler and found that the base and fencing are both there and that they would have to mill the current tennis courts.
As Medina Schools' human resource director, Shields spoke with the physical education teacher at A.I. Root about the project and said that she was interested.
"She thought it was great," Shields said. "She thought this would be a great thing we could use those courts for and also start having the kids utilize them as well."
Shields said that this option would provide the school the chance to integrate pickleball into the curriculum while allowing the courts to be available for the general public on a regular basis.
According to Medina Pickleball Association president Larry Trase, many of the members would love the option to go to A.I. Root.
Collaborating with the school district would be the best option for the city, Medina Mayor Dennis Hanwell said.
"From going from the three (courts) with the five inside to nine (courts) with the five inside is a pretty reasonable start for the city," Hanwell said. "Then, to do it collaboratively to where the schools get the benefit and the city gets the benefit, in my mind, just makes the most sense."
The third option for installing six pickleball courts at A.I. Root Middle School was unanimously passed during a public properties meeting in mid-October and was unanimously passed again by Medina Finance Committee.
With the approval, the project was transferred to Medina Schools to be approved at a board of education meeting. The project will come back to the city of Medina in the future for appropriations, according to Wehrley.
"I know we need to get pickleball courts," Shields said. "Any one of these three things is better than what we have right now. There's definitely a demand."
Contact reporter Sara Crawford at (330) 721-4063 or scrawford@medina-gazette.com.