Pickleball courts were the focus of the Holiday Island Suburban Improvement District Commission meeting Monday morning. Community members rallied for support to improve the two courts owned by HISID.
Without a smooth surface the players are reporting “dead spots” that prevent the ball from bouncing evenly. Estimated repairs to the surface of the courts range from $14,000 to $24,500.
In 2019 Holiday Island resident pickleball players came before commissioners requesting funds to support the same court improvements, but no funds were allocated in the 2020 budget. Some players are driving to the Eureka Springs Community Center to play on one of three courts there.
But with winter driving weather, and a population of residents pushing to play close to home, commissioners placed an item on their agenda.
Pickleball is a paddleball sport that combines elements of table tennis and badminton played on a court smaller than a tennis court.
Commissioners took no vote but gave staff the green light to consider the requested improvements and cost estimates.
Chair Ken Brown described a direct relationship between Holiday Island housing values and the condition of HI amenities. “I think we have to keep all of our amenities up,” he said.
Commissioner Nita Holley said, “I do realize that more and more people are using pickleball for their exercise to stay in shape. I think we need to pay more attention to pickleball because I think it is one of those things that is going to become more popular.”
Commissioner and Vice Chair Bill Noonan recognized that resident pickleball players have advocated for court improvements fervently and repeatedly causing him to ask fellow commissioners, “How many times does it take to listen and support this effort?” Noonan said that the commission and staff need to find some way to make the improvements happen.
“I would agree,” commissioner Dan Kees said. “We need to get it in the budget.”
District Manager Lawrence Blood received commission approval to apply for a State of Arkansas Rural Community grant in the amount of $15,000 to upgrade storage tanks holding liquid salt solutions to improve the efforts to de-ice district roads. Additional road improvements were discussed for the year 2020 including road paving, asphalt overlay, and striping.
One man’s trash is another man’s trash
Carroll County Sheriff’s Cpl. Aaron Ingle stated there were 167 calls from the Holiday Island community for police service in January. Ingle stated that illegal dumping is still occurring and asked the community to use their mobile phones to take photos of the car and/or license plates to help authorities catch the offenders. “Pictures work the best for us,” he said. Ingle said that in January “There was a lot of junk dumped out,” on Thunderbird Drive.
The next regular HISID meeting is scheduled for Monday, March 16.