Park Board meets to discuss Judge Lewis Park plans
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By Jeff Snyder
MOUNT AYR, Iowa — The Mounty Ayr Park Board met on March 5 with several members of the city council to discuss ongoing plans for Judge Lewis Park for this upcoming season.
The board members updated the council and City Administrator Brent Wise on a wide range of topics including upcoming work that will be needed on the Little League fields and the concession stand project currently under way.
One of the more exciting potential future projects discussed was the possibility of converting one of the current tennis courts in the park into a pickle ball court.
Pickle Ball is one of the hottest trends across the country with an ever growing following across a wide range of demographics. Pickle ball is a paddle sport that combines elements of tennis, racketball and ping pong to create a fast pace yet less grueling sporting activity for an older demographic, but is fast paced enough for the hard core athletes in the community too.
A tennis court measures 36 feet by 78 feet and includes a variety of scoring boxes and serving sites as opposed to pickle ball that measures 20 feet by 44 feet with somewhat more simplistic rules.
Unlike tennis, pickle ball is played with a paddle rather than a strung racket as in tennis. The pickle ball itself is a wiffle ball as opposed to a compressed air filled tennis ball.
Score is different as well with tennis having a bizarre scoring system that apparently only tennis players can explain — 15,30,40 advantage, love, all scoring terms in tennis. In pickle ball the first one to 11 wins and the winner must win by two points (similar to ping pong).
Although just in the planning and budgeting phase, board members seemed excited about the possibility of adding this sport to the recreation available at the park. Funding for this type of a project needs further discussion, but board members were optimistic that funding could be worked out.
Additionally, the board discussed the possibility of procuring pickle ball equipment that could be rented out for those who don’t own their own. The logistics of this rental program still need to be hammered out, such as where to hold the equipment, what hours of operation would be best and court reservations should that become an issue.
The board also discussed the auxiliary basketball court located at the park and the possibility of resurfacing the court and even the possibility of a backboard replacement to upgrade the aging equipment currently on site.
Since the wildly successful rebirth of the city pool last year, the spotlight has been shown on the Judge Lewis Park facilities and brought many area residents to the facility that other wise may have stayed away. The city wants to continue to provide the best experience for not only Mount Ayr community members, but surrounding communities as well. Modernizing these facilities while keeping a watchful eye on the city budget will pay dividends going forward.
