Members of Pickleball Fanatics attended the park board meeting.

WARSAW —  At the Warsaw Parks & Recreation board meeting held Tuesday, Jan. 15, Steve Haines was elected to continue serving as the board president in 2019. Larry Ladd will remain in the position of vice-president.  

Warsaw Mayor Joe Thallemer administered the oath of office to board member Jill Beehler, who serves as the Warsaw Library representative. 

Park Board Superintendent Larry Plummer informed board members that the parks department is entertaining the idea of turning the second tennis court at Kelly Park into pickleball courts. 

“We are looking at the idea of possibly turning the other half of the tennis court into four permanent pickleball courts,” said Plummer. “We have the opportunity with a couple of the foundations in town that have shown an interest in this.” 

In September 2017, members of a local pickleball group, Pickleball Fanatics, attended the park board meeting to request that one of the tennis courts at Kelly Park, located on Fawley Street in Warsaw, be modified in order to be used as a pickleball court. At that time, board members agreed to look into the idea and address it again at a later date.

“In the county, if you want to play pickleball today, you have to find somebody who has nets, find a place to put up the nets and find a place where there are lines down where you can go ahead and make it all happen,” said Dave Weidenbenner, Warsaw. “If a person wants to play tennis today, you go and everything is set up for you and you just go and play.”

Weidenbenner told board members it’s been difficult to grow the sport due to those limitations.

“If these courts happen like we hope they do, this will be the first place in the county where there are permanent pickleball courts available for the public,” Weidenbenner said. “I think we’ll see the sport really take off.”

“I agree — I think it’s a growing sport,” said Plummer. “Pickleball is on the rise and we would be the forefront in our region for that.”

According to Plummer, only one of the courts at Kelly Park is typically being used. 

“I’ve never seen both of those courts used at the same time,” said Plummer. “It’s totally different than the tennis courts at Center Lake where they’re used all the time.”

Plummer explained that they would need to widen the existing court by about 10 feet to allow for adequate clearances between the courts. They would then overlay the courts, install fencing, posts and nets and have the area striped. A meeting has been scheduled with Phend & Brown, Leesburg, to obtain estimates for the cost of the project. 

Plummer requested permission to apply for grants from the K21 Foundation and the Dr. Dane and Mary Louise Foundation in order to secure funding, provided the estimate they receive is reasonable. 

“It’s kind of like bringing an Olive Garden to Warsaw. People are always asking me when we’re going to get an Olive Garden,” said Mayor Thallemer. “I’ve had more people ask me about pickleball than Olive Garden – I’m gonna start playing, I think.”

“It is an opportunity – I’ve had a lot of input about this. Any outdoor recreational activity in the community sounds great, so I would endorse that,” said Thallemer.

“I think it’s a great opportunity for the city,” Ladd agreed. “I see no downside to this whatsoever.”

Board members gave approval for Plummer to apply for the grants.

Recreation Director Sheila Wieringa gave a monthly update, including information about events and programs planned for 2019. 

“We were approved to become a Safe Sitter Babysitting course site,” said Wieringa, who described this as a six-hour course geared toward grades 6-8, which includes information about CPR, first aid, general home safety, caring for children of different ages and business skills.

Other news:

• Permission was received from Board of Works to move forward with the schematic design of the pavilion office renovation.
• Thallemer was approached by Warsaw Community Development Corporation about purchasing a piece of equipment to remove snow in front of downtown businesses. This equipment was purchased and will be operated, as needed, by the parks department on weekday mornings.
• Maintenance Director Shaun Gardner provided a monthly maintenance update.
• Board members approved the 2019 proposed program and event dates and fees.
• The next regular meeting will be at 5:15 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 19.

Pictured, from left, Jill Beehler and Warsaw Mayor Joe Thallemer.

Pictured, from left, 2019 Board President Steve Haines and Vice-President Larry Ladd.