Pickleball and Trailheads were two topics at the POA board of directors' work session on Thursday.
General Manager Tom Judson told the board that there is a need for more trailheads for the users of the Sugar Creek Trails to park their vehicles. He had a specific place in mind at the corner of Chelsea and Arthur. There's an open area, he explained, that gives drivers good sightlines as they approach it. He asked the board to consider it.
The expense would be absorbed by the already approved trail maintenance budget, he said.
Board Member Jerry Hover asked if the ACC has approved the current trailheads.
The ACC is more involved with homes, POA Attorney Doug McClure said. It may not be interested in the trailheads.
Hover explained that he had been approached by members about the surface of the trailheads. Homeowners must abide by ACC regulations on surfaces used for parking, so maybe the trailheads should also be approved.
Judson said he would check with the ACC to see if it considers the trailheads part of its responsibility.
Sandy Fosdick said she doesn't want to license the land as part of the trail system. Sometime in the future, the POA might want to charge for parking in order to offset costs of trail maintenance.
Judson pointed out that the POA could not enforce the parking fee since it cannot issue tickets or fines. Since it's private property, the city would not be interested in enforcing the fee.
Teah Bidwell asked if the licensing of a new trailhead could be adjusted to correspond with the licensing of the larger areas of the trails. Both McClure and Judson agreed that could probably be negotiated.
Board members went on to debate the location of possible new pickleball courts. When the coronavirus started impacting the POA, each department worked hard to cut expenses and, as a result, there are now some funds available for capital projects, Judson explained. He submitted a proposal to build another four pickleball courts at Metfield Park, spending $34,00 in 2020, with the remaining $27,000 coming from the 2021 budget.
Fosdick said she plays pickleball in a neighboring city because Bella Vista doesn't have enough courts. She said the tennis courts at Branchwood can be used for pickleball, but the cracks in the courts make their use dangerous.
Chairman David Brandenburg said recreation director Joan Glubczynski said the courts should not be repaired. Because of their original construction, they will need repair over and over, and Glubczynski plans to remove them, he said.
There are three relatively new courts at Metfield, Brandenburg said, and he thinks new courts should be located nearby so the players can socialize. There's a site at Metfield where tennis courts were removed and pickleball courts could make use of that area.
But Fosdick said people on the west side also play and would like courts at Branchwood. Work is also needed on some of the Kingsdale tennis courts, she added.
"Do we spend the money on fixing what we have or do we build new?" Fosdick said. The sport has increased by 600 percent in the last few years. "I'd like to see a huge pickleball complex somewhere here. I'd like to see indoor and outdoor pickleball courts," she said.
At the Thursday board meeting, a vote is expected on the first steps to add pickleball courts. The 2021 budget would fund the remaining work on the project.