The City of Carroll will be contracting with FEH Design for the design, development and bid administration of pickleball courts. Director of Parks and Recreation, Jack Wardell, says they will be looking to construct these on a piece of property to the west of the tennis courts at Graham Park that was donated by the Schaben family. He says some of the initial work will not be as comprehensive as previous projects in that area.
The consulting fee is $15,090 and some money for the entire construction project has been budgeted by the city. There have also been a few grants along with buy-in from the Carroll Pickleball Association that will be added to that $148,400 from the city.
Rich Hartley, with the Pickleball Association, says they are also working on other grant opportunities that may increase the amount they will be able to provide for the project. Wardell says, at this time, they are planning on construction of four courts, but want to request bids with the option of two more to see what that does to costs. The timeline would have the courts completed as early as next fall.
Wardell says he is confident the new location will help with the reduction of some of the cost projections originally presented for placing the courts at Northwest Park. Hartley adds that going from six to four courts could be a $60,000 to $75,000 change in the expected expenses. And as far as the need for that number of courts, Hartley adds that interest in pickleball is growing in the region with about 60 regular players at this time.
