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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAGENDA REPORT 2020 0115 REG CCSA ITEM 09BCITY OF MOORPARK, 
CALIFORNIA City Council Meeting of January 15, 2020 ACTION Approved staff recommendation. BY B.Garza. B. Consider Striping Tennis Courts at Miller Park for Both Tennis and Pickleball. Staff Recommendation: Authorize staff to restripe both tennis courts at Miller Park for both tennis and pickleball, and purchase portable pickleball nets. (Staff: Jeremy Laurentowski) Item: 9.B. MOORPARK CITY COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT TO: Honorable City Council FROM: Jeremy Laurentowski, Parks and Recreation Director DATE: 01/15/2020 Regular Meeting SUBJECT: Consider Striping Tennis Courts at Miller Park for Both Tennis and Pickleball BACKGROUND Pickleball is a relatively new trend in recreation that has been gaining momentum for many years. The USA Pickleball Association has thousands of members, and countless tournaments are scheduled across the country every year. Locally, several cities such as Simi Valley, Thousand Oaks and Santa Barbara have dedicated pickleball courts. However, many other cities offer pickleball classes or programs by utilizing existing tennis courts with portable pickleball nets. Pickleball is a sport that combines elements of badminton, tennis, and table tennis. The game is played as either singles (2) or doubles (4) and players use solid paddles to hit a perforated polymer ball, similar to a Wiffle Ball, over a net. The size of a pickleball court is similar in length to the width of a traditional tennis court. The normal size of a pickleball court is 20’x44’, conversely the normal size of a tennis court is 78’x36’. According to the Parks and Recreation Master Plan (Master Plan) that was approved by the City Council on June 3, 2009, five tennis courts are recommended for Moorpark. This was based on several factors, such as the population size of Moorpark, a community survey that was distributed to all residents, and current trends in recreation at the time. Prior to 2016, the City had fourteen tennis courts, which was a surplus of approximately nine courts according to the Master Plan. However, it should be noted that eight of the available tennis courts are located at Arroyo Vista Community Park (AVCP) and are shared with the Moorpark Unified School District (MUSD) during certain hours consistent with a use agreement. MUSD jointly funded the construction of these tennis courts and has priority use from 8:00 a.m. through 2:30 p.m. Monday-Friday during the school year, and has priority use of four courts from 8:00 a.m. through 12:00 p.m. Monday-Friday during the summer months. There are also provisions that allow MUSD priority use of the courts for California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) practices, matches and certain tournaments. In return, MUSD covers 50% of the maintenance Item: 9.B. 69 Honorable City Council 01/15/2020 Regular Meeting Page 2 costs of the courts. However, the courts are available to the general public when not in use by MUSD, and are typically available during the evening after 5:00 p.m. and on weekends. On September 19, 2016, the Park and Recreation Commission (Commission) made a recommendation to the City Council to convert the single tennis court at Tierra Rejada Park to four pickleball courts. The City Council approved the Commission’s recommendation for several reasons: the Parks and Recreation Master Plan identifies a surplus of tennis courts in Moorpark; the single court at Tierra Rejada Park was already isolated from the adjacent tennis courts by fencing; Tierra Rejada Park is in close proximity to AVCP which has eight tennis courts; converting the courts at AVCP was not a viable option due to the agreement with MUSD; Mammoth Park only has one tennis court and converting the court to pickleball would have eliminated all options for tennis north of Los Angeles Avenue; and converting one of the courts at Miller Park would limit some availability of tennis courts on the south/east side of Moorpark. In September, 2017, the single tennis court at Tierra Rejada Park was converted to four pickleball courts. The pickleball courts are very popular with Moorpark residents. However, within a few months of opening the courts, staff was contacted by many pickleball players requesting more courts, as well as lighted courts so that individuals could play after work during the late fall, winter and early spring months. More and more players are showing up on a regular basis to play and many neighboring cities are building more courts to stay current with demand. Although the courts that were installed at Tierra Rejada Park are popular, they are not ideal for competitive play. The layout of the courts was determined by the size of the existing tennis court and fencing, which ultimately keeps the courts relatively close to each other. Because of this, staff has been informed that many competitive players are leaving Moorpark to play in neighboring cities. Additionally, the courts at Tierra Rejada Park are not lighted. This is primarily due to the fact that the courts are within close proximity to neighboring homes. During the August 15, 2019, Special Commission Meeting, the Commission requested a future agenda item regarding pickleball and options for more courts. This request was timely, as on September 9, 2019, staff received a letter from several Moorpark residents formally requesting more pickleball courts. In response to the Commission’s request, staff prepared an agenda report regarding pickleball and presented the report to the Commission during the October 7, 2019 Commission meeting (The full report is included as Attachment 2). Approximately two weeks prior to the Commission meeting, staff posted Notice of a Public Meeting on every tennis court and pickleball court to invite users to the Commission meeting to seek input prior to converting additional tennis courts to pickleball. In an effort to find a solution to the desire for pickleball courts, staff presented several options to the Commission: 70 Honorable City Council 01/15/2020 Regular Meeting Page 3 • Convert both tennis courts at Miller Park to six pickleball courts; • Convert one tennis court at Miller Park to four pickleball courts; • Convert one tennis court at Miller Park to two pickleball courts; or • Do not convert any tennis courts at Miller Park to pickleball courts Many members of the public spoke on this item, both in favor and opposed to converting the courts at Miller Park to pickleball courts. Ultimately, the Commission made a recommendation not to permanently convert any of the tennis courts at Miller Park to pickleball courts. However, the Commission made an alternate recommendation, which was to restripe two tennis courts at AVCP for both tennis and pickleball, and to purchase portable pickleball nets. The Commission also directed staff to consider restriping the courts at Miller Park for both sports if restriping the courts at AVCP violated the CIF or the United States Tennis Association (USTA) standards for competitive play. The recommendation was not unanimous, as one Commissioner opposed. The Commissioner that opposed was in favor of converting at least one tennis court at Miller Park to permanent pickleball courts due to the fact that there is a surplus of tennis courts in Moorpark according to the Master Plan. Per the Commission’s direction, staff contacted Moorpark High School (MHS) and the USTA and discovered that restriping the courts at AVCP for both tennis and pickleball would not violate USTA or CIF standards for competitive play. However, MHS was opposed to restriping the courts due to the fact that league games are typically not scheduled with a dedicated line judge or other official at each court. The individual players are required to call faults and other match violations. MHS felt strongly that additional lines on the courts would make it difficult to identify these violations during competitive play. Although restriping the courts at AVCP for both uses does not directly violate any CIF or USTA requirements, staff did not feel that restriping the courts at AVCP for both sports was an appropriate option and determined that this item should be taken back to the Commission for further discussion. On December 2, 2019, staff brought back this item for the Commission to consider restriping the courts at Miller Park for both tennis and pickleball (the full report is included as Attachment 2). Approximately two weeks prior to the Commission meeting, staff again posted Notice of a Public Meeting on the tennis courts and pickleball courts. Staff prepared the following options for the Commission to consider: • Option A - Restripe both courts for both tennis and pickleball with Blended Lines. Blended Lines is a concept recommended by the USTA and includes lines for both a standard 78’ tennis court, as well as a 60’ tennis court. The concept would allow for pickleball to be played within the singles area of a 60’ tennis court. However, the court sizes and net heights differ slightly for pickleball, as the net is taller by 2” and the court size is off 1’ in width and 2’ in length. • Option B - Restripe one or both tennis courts for both tennis and pickleball and purchase portable nets. • Option C - Do not restripe any of the courts for both tennis and pickleball at this time. 71 Honorable City Council 01/15/2020 Regular Meeting Page 4 Several members of the public spoke on this item, both in favor and opposed to restriping the courts at Miller Park for both pickleball and tennis. During the Commission meeting, one Commission Member made a motion to recommend to the City Council Option C. However, the motion was not supported and ultimately the Commission recommended continuing this item to the upcoming Special Commission Meeting on December 7, 2019, in order to tour both Miller Park and Tierra Rejada Park before a recommendation was made to the City Council. On December 7, 2019, during the Special Commission Meeting, the Commission toured several parks, including Miller Park and Tierra Rejada Park. Several members of the public met the Commission at Miller Park to discuss pickleball and tennis. The Special Commission Meeting reconvened at the Community Center to continue the pickleball item from the December 2, 2019, Commission meeting and ultimately moved to make a recommendation to the City Council to consider Option B, which was to restripe both tennis courts at Miller Park for both pickleball and tennis, and to purchase portable nets. The recommendation was not unanimous, as one Commissioner was opposed. The Commissioner that was opposed was in favor of restriping only one tennis court at this time. The Commissioner felt that the use of the courts by pickleball players should be evaluated to determine if restriping both courts was warranted. DISCUSSION Staff and the Commission heard from many residents regarding both the permanent conversion of the existing tennis courts to pickleball courts, as well as a temporary solution to restripe the courts at Miller Park for both sports. There have been many discussions regarding this subject via email, phone conversations, and during public comment, many of which are documented in Attachment 2. Staff will not attempt to summarize the desires of the Moorpark Community on either side, as many comments were heartfelt and personal. However, several tangible concerns were brought to staff’s attention: • Parking: Thirty-one parking spaces are available in the parking lot and approximately twenty-five on the east side of Miller Parkway, between Miller Park and Peach Hill Road. Miller Park is a popular rental destination and is also utilized by several youth sports groups. If the courts were restriped for both sports, the use of the courts could ultimately double. The increase would be from four to eight tennis players, depending if the participants were playing singles or doubles, to sixteen pickleball players. It should be noted that additional parking is available on Peach Hill Road, approximately one block away. However, City staff may be required to reserve parking spaces for park renters if pickleball become popular at Miller Park. 72 Honorable City Council 01/15/2020 Regular Meeting Page 5 • Costs Converting the tennis courts to pickleball courts would cost between $30,000 to approximately $200,000 depending on the extent of the conversion. However, the Commission determined that they would not support permanently converting the courts and recommended restriping the courts for both sports. Staff has obtained quotes for this work. Restriping the courts and installing signage will cost approximately $2,000, and portable pickleball nets will cost approximately $1,500, for a total cost of approximately $3,500. • Maintenance Concerns: Pickleballs are harder than tennis balls and the court surface might wear quicker than tennis. Typically, tennis courts are resurfaced on a 7 to 10-year cycle depending on the use of the courts. It is possible that high use from pickleball players may reduce the life of the court surface. Staff has discussed this issue with other park districts and has not been able to substantiate this concern. The cost to resurface the courts at Miller Park recently cost the City approximately $11,000. However, it should be noted that the USTA offers grants to Cities to resurface tennis courts. The USTA has reached out to staff to inform them that Moorpark is eligible for future grant proceeds. • Wait time: Tennis players may be required to wait to play tennis, or drive to a different location if pickleball is popular. During public comment, it was also brought to staff’s attention that allowing two different uses at the tennis courts at Miller Park may cause conflict. Staff has spent quite a bit of time discussing this issue with Rancho Simi Recreation and Park District (Rancho Simi), as they went through a similar scenario in Oak Park. Rancho Simi ultimately restriped the two tennis courts at Deer Hill Park for both tennis and pickleball, and purchased portable pickleball nets. They also restriped the tennis courts at Rancho Tapo Community Park (Lemon Park) in Simi Valley for both sports. Rancho Simi has stated that once the courts were restriped, they have had no conflicts or concerns of any kind. They stated that both groups have been very respectful and they have been very pleased with the outcome. During the December 7, 2019, Special Commission meeting, the Commission directed staff to determine times or days that each group could use the courts. Several districts have courts that have dedicated days or times that are allowed for one sport, others are scheduled on a first-come-first-served basis. Staff recommends opening the courts on a first-come-first-served basis, as it would not be possible to give equal play time to both groups since there are an odd number of days in the week. Additionally, staff does not feel that it would be appropriate to leave the courts idle if one group was not using the courts. Ultimately, the pickleball players would be responsible for putting away the portable pickleball nets. Staff will post a set of rules regarding use of the courts similar to the rules established by Rancho Simi (See Attachment 1) where use of the courts are changed over on the hour. This typically allows enough time to play a couple pickleball games or a tennis match. 73 Honorable City Council 01/15/2020 Regular Meeting Page 6 FISCAL IMPACT The cost to restripe the tennis courts at Miller Park, including the cost for signage and portable nets is approximately $3,500. There is currently funding available in the FY 2019/20 Operating Budget to complete this work. Staff is not requesting an additional appropriation. COUNCIL GOAL COMPLIANCE This action does not support a current strategic directive. STAFF RECOMMENDATION Authorize staff to restripe both tennis courts at Miller Park for both tennis and pickleball, and purchase portable pickleball nets. Attachment 1: Court Rules – Rancho Simi Recreation and Park District Attachment 2: December 2, 2019 Parks and Recreation Commission Agenda Report (October 7, 2019 Parks and Recreation Commission Agenda Report is included as an Attachment) 74 RANCHO SIMI RECREATION AND PARK DISTRICT COURT WAITING SYSTEM COURT USE STARTS AND ENDS ON THE HOUR WHEN COURTS ARE OPEN, YOU MUST DECIDE: A. To wait, and start precisely on the hour, or B. Go to the open court of your choice and play the remaining minutes of that present hour. WHEN ALL COURTS ARE IN USE: 1. The waiting party must place one racquet on the hourly reservation board located on the court of their choice. 2. When placing your racquet on the hourly waiting board, be sure to do so between game points in order not to disturb the game in progress. Participants are asked to remain outside the facility while waiting for an available court. 3. After a waiting party has designated their court preference, as least one member of the group must remain on site at the entrance of the facility. His or her partner(s) must be present precisely on the hour, or the court must be relinquished to the next waiting party. 4. An individual who utilizes a court for practice must relinquish their court to either a singles or doubles group immediately upon request. An individual player may not request use of a court from a playing party. 5. Players are not permitted to play and have a racquet on any hourly waiting board at the same time. Single players waiting to use a court may not hold a court for participant(s) already engaged in play. Exception: If no other players are waiting to play. 6. Precisely on the hour, all players must vacate the court regardless of game score unless: a) there is at least one open court, b) there are no racquets on their reservation board. 7. Players are not permitted to stop play prior to the end of their reservation time and resume play on the next hour. ATTACHMENT 1 75 ITEM: 8.A. CITY OF MOORPARK PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION AGENDA REPORT TO: Parks and Recreation Commission FROM: Jeremy Laurentowski, Parks and Recreation Director DATE: December 2, 2019 SUBJECT: Consider Restriping Tennis Court(s) at Miller Park for both Pickleball and Tennis _______________________________________________________________________ BACKGROUND Pickleball has become extremely popular in Moorpark and surrounding communities and there is a need to expand our current facilities. City staff has been contacted by numerous Moorpark residents over the last year or so requesting more courts, particularly lighted courts to allow for pickleball to be played in the evening during the late fall, winter and early spring months. Consideration of conversion of courts for pickleball was requested by the Parks and Recreation Commission (Commission) during its August 15, 2019 Special meeting. On October 7, 2019, the Commission considered converting one or more tennis courts at Miller Park to pickleball courts. The agenda report is included as an attachment for reference. On July 19, 2019, the City Council adopted the City of Moorpark, Mission Statement, Strategies, Goals and Objectives (Objectives) for Fiscal Year 2019/20 and 2020/21. The Objectives are the building blocks that establish the priorities for each City department. They were thoughtfully identified by the City Council to support the City’s mission, “Striving to preserve and improve the quality of life in Moorpark.” The current Objectives that the Parks, Recreation and Community Services Department is responsible for include an update to the Parks and Recreation Master Plan; building the new City library; completing the Civic Center Master Plan; designing and building a universally accessible playground; several trail connections at Arroyo Vista Community Park (AVCP), Happy Camp Regional Park and the 80-acre property south of Tierra Rejada Road; and building a water spray attraction to name a few. Pickleball is not a currently identified City Council Objective. Further, it should be noted that the City has limited resources to fund new pickleball courts. Six new courts with lights would cost the City approximately $525,000. ATTACHMENT 2 76 Parks and Recreation Commission December 2, 2019 Page 2 In an effort to find a temporary solution to the desire for pickleball courts, staff presented several options to the Commission as follows: x Option A - Convert both tennis courts at Miller Park to six (6) pickleball courts; x Option B - Convert one tennis court at Miller Park to four (4) pickleball courts; x Option C - Convert one tennis court at Miller Park to two (2) pickleball courts; or x Option D - Do not convert any tennis courts at Miller Park to pickleball courts At the October 7 Commission meeting, the Commission recommended Option D. However, the Commission made an additional alternate recommendation to restripe two tennis courts at AVCP for both tennis and pickleball, and to purchase portable pickleball nets. The Commission also directed staff to consider restriping the courts at Miller Park for both sports if restriping the courts at AVCP violated the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) or the United States Tennis Association (USTA) standards for competitive play. The recommendation was not unanimous, as one Commissioner opposed. DISCUSSION Staff has contacted Moorpark High School (MHS) and the USTA and has discovered that restriping the courts at AVCP for both tennis and pickleball does not violate USTA or CIF standards for competitive play. However, MHS is opposed to restriping the courts due to the fact that league games are typically not scheduled with a dedicated line judge or other official at each court. The individual players are required to call faults and other match violations. MHS feels strongly that additional lines on the courts will make it difficult to identify these violations during competitive play. Although restriping the courts at AVCP for both uses does not directly violate any CIF or USTA requirements, staff does not recommend restriping the courts at AVCP due to the fact that it may be confusing during league games. As mentioned previously, the Commission directed staff to consider restriping the courts at Miller Park if AVCP is not a viable option. Staff has prepared the following options for the Commission to consider: Option A: Restripe both courts for both tennis and pickleball with Blended Lines. During discussions with the USTA regarding pickleball, it came to staff’s attention that the USTA has developed a compromise that would allow for both uses. One of the priorities of the USTA is to encourage the development of youth tennis programs and they are promoting a concept called “Blended Lines.” Blended Lines is simply restriping the courts for both youth tennis and adult tennis. The USTA feels strongly that smaller courts will encourage young tennis players to start learning the sport and they also feel that there are direct benefits to seniors and other individuals that want to play tennis, but don’t have the capacity to play on a full court. The USTA is motivated to develop this concept and has even offered to pay for the cost to restripe the courts at Miller Park. 77 Parks and Recreation Commission December 2, 2019 Page 3 Blended Lines include lines for both a standard 78’ tennis court, as well as a 60’ tennis court. The concept would allow for pickleball to be played within the singles area of a 60’ tennis court. However, the court sizes and net heights differ slightly for both sports. The normal size of a pickleball court is 20’x44’ with the center line of the net set at 34” height. The court dimension for singles tennis on a 60’ tennis court is 21’x42’ with the center line of the net set at 36” height (see Attachment 1). Option B: Restripe one or both tennis courts for both tennis and pickleball and purchase portable nets. This option would restripe one or both tennis courts so that both tennis and pickleball could be played on the same court (see Attachment 2). As discussed during the October 7, 2019, Commission meeting, a north/south orientation is preferred due to sun exposure. Additionally, only two pickleball courts should be installed on one tennis court to allow for the additional room that is needed during competitive play. Portable pickleball nets would need to be moved out of the way for use of the tennis courts and reinstalled for use of the pickleball courts. During the October 7, 2019, Commission meeting, staff discussed the fact that MHS has a Use Agreement with the City for priority use of the tennis courts at AVCP during certain times. Because of this, staff would need to secure the portable pickleball nets at AVCP during the times that tennis is allowed under the Agreement. Typically, the City has staff available at the Arroyo Vista Recreation Center (AVRC) to accommodate this. However, it should be noted that City staff would not be able to monitor the use or secure portable pickleball nets at Miller Park. The use of the courts and installation of nets would need to be performed by the individuals using the courts. Option C: Do not restripe any of the courts for both tennis and pickleball at this time. Earlier this year, the Commission formed an Ad Hoc Committee to start the process of updating the Parks and Recreation Master Plan. Ideally, it would be beneficial to update the Master Plan before a decision is made regarding pickleball. At this time, the Master Plan has been put on hold for at least eighteen months. This is primarily due to the fact that the City anticipates seeking advice from the community on several other items. Currently the Arts Master Plan is in full swing, as is the new Library, Civic Center Master Plan and most recently, the Join the Conversation campaign. Out of concern that the residents of Moorpark will get survey overload, the update of the Parks and Recreation Master Plan has been put on hold. On November 22, 2019, in anticipation of this meeting, staff posted a Notice of a Public Meeting on every tennis court and pickleball court in Moorpark. Staff has received several comments from Moorpark residents relative to this item (See Attachment No. 3). Staff also received email comments from several residents after the October 7 meeting that were not included in the staff report since they were received after the posting deadline. These emails are also included in the attachment. 78 Parks and Recreation Commission December 2, 2019 Page 4 Staff does not feel that restriping the courts at Miller Park for both tennis and pickleball is a viable option. The Blended Lines concept (Option A) proposed by the USTA does not allow for a regulation size court or net. Although the overall size of the court is close to the size of a pickleball court, the court is off by a couple feet. The net height is also problematic, as it is approximately 2” higher than a pickleball net. This would be a problem for competitive players and would not be advantageous for beginners learning the sport. Additionally, staff does not feel that the option to restripe for both tennis and pickleball, and install portable nets, is a viable option. Staff believes that the portable nets will become a maintenance issue and an inconvenience for both users. At this point in time, staff does not have any additional options for the Commission to consider. Potentially, the only viable option for more pickleball courts in Moorpark is to build new courts. If the Commission wishes to consider building additional pickleball courts, staff recommends bringing this desire to the attention of the City Council during the Joint City Council/Parks and Recreation Commission meeting in April. As mentioned previously, building new pickleball courts is currently not an adopted City Council Objective, and staff does not have the authority to make pickleball a priority without concurrence from the City Council. FISCAL IMPACT There would be no costs to the City to restripe the courts under the Blended Lines option, as the USTA will cover these expenses. The cost to restripe the tennis courts at Miller Park and purchase portable nets would cost approximately $2,500 for four pickleball courts. STAFF RECOMMENDATION Staff recommends that the Commission direct staff not to restripe the courts at AVCP or Miller Park for both pickleball and tennis, as identified in Option C. Since this recommendation does not change the current uses of the tennis courts at either park, City Council action will not be required. Staff will provide a memo to the City Council discussing the options that have been considered. Attachments: 1. Email responses received since the Commission meeting on October 7, 2019 2. Option A – Blended Lines 3. Option B – Restripe for both pickleball and tennis 4. October 7, 2019, Parks and Recreation Commission Agenda Report 79 Email Comment 1 It has come to my attention that there has been recent consideration of altering or changing the two tennis courts at Miller Park into pickle ball courts. Although I know that pickle ball has become quite popular (I also play the game), I would hope that you would re-consider and leave the tennis courts intact. They are used frequently, and I feel that changing them would negatively impact the tennis community. Thank you, in advance, for your consideration. Kind regards, 2 As a Moorpark resident, I love playing tennis at Miller Park and object to converting the tennis courts to pickle ball courts; although, I also play pickle ball. It’s a beautiful serene park that would be ruined by the noise from pickle ball. The courts at Tierra Rejada are only in heavy use on weekend mornings and completely empty after 11:30am and on weekdays. There are also many courts in Simi Valley & Thousand Oaks, available. Many of the pickle ball players at Tierra Rejada aren’t even Moorpark residents. Thank you for taking my comments. 3 To Moorpark Board Members- it was my plan to be at the meeting tonight to hear the discussion/voice my thoughts in person but due to an injury I am unable to attend. So I will have to voice my HEARTFELD thoughts by email. The idea of taking away EVEN MORE tennis courts to convert them to pickleball courts is just simply NOT RIGHT. The city of Simi Valley converted so many tennis courts to pickleball courts recently that there are now more pickleball courts in that city than tennis courts. This was very unfair and drove many, many tennis players in that area to have to come to courts further away, such as Moorpark. Already some tennis courts have been converted to pickleball in Moorpark: i.e. such as the courts on Tierra Rejada near Moorpark HS. We just cannot afford to lose the Miller Park courts to pickleball. Adding pickleball lines to tennis courts is NOT the answer as it makes it very difficult and nearly impossible to play tennis and make accurate line calls for tennis players. The solution is simple: build more pickleball courts rather than taking away existing Tennis Courts. The cost of building pickleball courts vs building more tennis courts speaks for itself. PLEASE re-think this proposal and dismiss it. PLEASE leave the tennis courts at Miller Park FOR TENNIS; AS THEY WERE MEANT TO BE!!!!! Sincerely, 4 Dear Kimberly Sexton, I'm from Moorpark High School and I would be interested in having lighted pickleball courts in our city. *5&.""55"$).&/5*5&.""55"$).&/580 I am a member of the MHS Instrumental Music Program, I take rigorous academic courses, and I work part-time. My schedule is packed and I typically can only able to find time to play pickleball in the evenings. Due to the change in seasons, I have played less frequently. Having lighted pickleball courts would resolve this issue, and I would greatly appreciate being able to play when I have the time. Thank you for both your and the city's consideration of converting one of the Miller Park tennis courts into pickleball courts. I sincerely hope we will be seeing these changes soon! Best Regards, 5 •Build NEW pickle-ball courts. •SAVE my TWO neighborhood tennis courts!!!!! We live across the street from Miller Park and use the courts often. •Add NEW pickle ball courts! There’s plenty of room at Miller Park. 6 We were unable to attend tonight‘s meeting about the pickle ball courts. We are not in favor of converting the tennis courts at Miller Park into pickle ball courts. My wife and I both play tennis and our kids take lessons at these courts. We feel that the best use of the cities courts would be to convert the ones on Tierra Rejada all into pickle ball courts. Pickle ball is quickly rising in popularity however it would be a mistake to convert of whole bunch of courts if this ends up being a fad and in a few years not as many people are playing. Thank you 7 Hello I play tennis as well as pickleball and too many quarts are being converted to pickleball courts. Playing on a mixed Court also does not work. It makes it very confusing for the player. Also, pickleball is fairly new in our County and when the newness wears off, then what? We are stuck with lined pickleball tennis courts. There are plenty of pickleball courts around and we do not need any more. Thank you and I hope you will listen to our concerns. 8 I am an avid tennis player and I do play pickle ball. I am against changing the courts to pickle ball. It will be very distracting to play tennis on pickle ball courts as there would be too many lines on the court. I also believe that pickleball is a fad. 9 To Whom It May Concern, I would like to state my desire to keep the tennis courts at Miller Park the way it is. Would there be another place where there are multiple courts that can be converted to pickleball? It’s a shame to completely remove both courts for tennis. I understand that Pickleball has become very popular; however there are still many that play tennis. Thank you kindly for your attention to this matter. 81 10 I am sorry I am not able to attend the town meeting regarding converting the tennis courts into pickle ball courts but I wanted to let you know that I feel strongly against this. My tennis team practices there once a week and we often play there socially for fun. When pickle ball lines are drawn on tennis courts it makes it hard to play because it’s hard to call the ball in or out when there are so many lines on the ground! I also feel that there is plenty of land to build additional pickle ball courts instead of converting the tennis courts. I know this would cost more money but it is not fair to kick out the tennis players just to make room for pickle ball players. It feels discriminatory! In my experience, whenever pickle ball courts are painted on tennis courts, the tennis players just don’t come because of the lines drawn on the court issue. Also, when the ball hits a pickle ball racquet the sound is really loud and very distracting for tennis players. I guarantee if you paint pickle ball lines all your tennis players will go elsewhere. 11 Hi! I saw the notice on the tennis courts about changing them into pickle ball courts. I’d like to put in my family’s vote to keep the Tennis courts. We use them almost every weekend and there is usually always at least one other group playing. Please let me know if you need me to collect more votes or have any other questions I can help with. Thanks! 12 Dear Moorpark Parks And Recreation Commission: Please consider once again the community of adult and junior tennis players in Moorpark that would be detrimentally affected if one or both of the tennis courts at Miller Park were painted with additional lines for Pickleball. PLEASE do not change the tennis courts by adding additional lines. If anyone on the Commission has ever seen or played on tennis courts that have additional painted lines, you will realize that it is a terrible situation for both tennis players and pickleball players. Determining the lines for either sport will be extremely difficult and will detract from the quality of the courts and soon no one will want to use them. As a Moorpark resident, the Miller Park tennis courts are full and used frequently both during the week and on the weekend. We already have 4 dedicated pickleball courts at Tierra Rejada Park which replaced a tennis court. Why take away yet another tennis court at a community park that is walkable for a lot of residents? Wouldn't it be better to re-purpose one or two of the courts at Arroyo Vista Park that has 8 courts already? Kind regards, 13 I would urge to support the conversion of the tennis courts to Pickleball courts at Miller Park. Pickleball is the fastest growing sport in America right now, there is 250,000 members in the USAPA and it is fun for all ages. there are Local, Regional, and National Tournaments across the country in every state. Most of the former tennis players are now playing Pickleball and loving it because it’s easier on the body, and a more social sport too. I 82 have been retired for 4 yrs. and I play 3 hrs. a day, along with 30-40 others here in Simi Valley. It’s a lot of fun and it will bring the much needed courts to Moorpark. Thank You for considering this proposal for the conversion. Sincerely, 14 Hello, I’ve been playing pickleball for three years. I have been driving to Simi and Thousand Oaks to play. I can now play at the new courts across the street from the high school. Pickleball is a wonderful sport and is growing in popularity. I’ve lived in Moorpark for 21 years and I’ve noticed that the tennis courts are usually empty. With Pickleball far more people can play and they are playing. Since my experience has been mostly in Simi Valley, I realize that there are hard feelings between tennis players and pickle ball players because the tennis players do not want their courts divided up with extra lines. I regret the hard feelings, however, far more people will get use out of the courts if they’re made into pickle ball courts. Please make more pickle ball courts in Moorpark. Thank you, 83 ITEM: 8.A. ATTACHEMENT 1 Additional Correspondence 15 Parks and Recreation Department Administrative Assistant: I first moved to Moorpark in 1990 and have been playing on the city's tennis courts ever since. My friend and I play at Miller Park's courts regularly. Both courts are often being used for tennis. There are a lot of tennis players in Moorpark. We think that the pickle ball advocates are a vocal minority and are well organized to persuade the city to switch tennis courts to pickle ball courts. Please seriously consider the all the local tennis players when making this decision. 16 I attended the last meeting on converting the two tennis courts to pickle ball courts on Miller Parkway. I feel changing the 2 tennis courts at Miller Parkway to pickle ball courts will greatly impact the area. There is not enough parking, which all of you agreed to at the meeting. Parking off site will only cause surrounding neighborhoods to be effected. Why not change the remaining tennis courts at Mountain Meadow to pickle ball courts and this way, they will be all together. Many communities keep the tennis courts and pickle ball courts separated in different areas. Please leave the Miller Parkway tennis courts alone. As you can see, I AM A TENNIS PLAYER and have no ill feelings against pickle ball. Granted the pickle ball players came out in force at the last meeting with matching T Shirts, stories of woe and how pickle ball changed their lives. Well, here is how tennis saved mine. My husband and I moved to Moorpark approximately 10 years ago. Both of us loved tennis and were so impressed that Moorpark had courts for us. When my husband passed away, it was tennis and the camaraderie of my fellow tennis players that kept me going. Playing tennis and having lunch in Moorpark. Tennis is quite a social game too. PLEASE CONSIDER THE TENNIS COMMUNITY! 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' '.. r CITY OF MOORPARK PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION AGENDA REPORT TO: Parks and Recreation Commission FROM: Jeremy Laurentowski, Parks and Recreation Director DATE: October 7, 2019 SUBJECT: Consider Converting Tennis Court(s) at Miller Park to Pickleball _______________________________________________________________________ BACKGROUND Pickleball is a relatively new trend in recreation that has been gaining momentum for at least the last ten years. The USA Pickleball Association has thousands of members, and countless tournaments are scheduled across the country every year. Locally, several cities such as Simi Valley, Thousand Oaks and Santa Barbara have dedicated pickleball courts. However, many other cities offer pickleball classes or programs by utilizing existing tennis courts with temporary fencing. Pickleball is a sport that combines elements of badminton, tennis, and table tennis. The game is played as either singles (2) or doubles (4) and players use solid paddles to hit a perforated polymer ball, similar to a wiffle ball, over a net. The size of a pickleball court is similar in length to the width of a traditional tennis court. The normal size of a pickleball court is 20’x44’. According to the Parks and Recreation Master Plan that was approved by the City Council on June 3, 2009 five tennis courts are recommended for Moorpark. This was based on several factors, such as the population size of Moorpark, a community survey that was distributed to all residents, and current trends in recreation at the time. Prior to 2016, the City had fourteen tennis courts, which is a surplus of approximately nine courts. However, it should be noted that eight of the available tennis courts are located at Arroyo Vista Community Park (AVCP) and are shared with the Moorpark Unified School District (MUSD) during certain hours. MUSD has priority use from 8:00 a.m. through 2:30 p.m. M-F during the school year, and has priority use of four courts from 8:00 a.m. through 12:00 p.m. M-F during the summer months. There are also provisions that allow MUSD priority use of the courts for CIF practices, matches and certain tournaments. In return, MUSD covers 50% of the maintenance costs of the ITEM: 8.A. ATTACHMENT 4 89 Parks and Recreation Commission October 7, 2019 Page 2 courts. However, the courts are available to the general public when not in use by MUSD, and are typically available during the evening after 5:00 p.m. and all day on weekends. On September 19, 2016 the Park and Recreation Commission (Commission) made a recommendation to the City Council to convert the single tennis court at Tierra Rejada Park to four pickleball courts. The City Council approved the Commission’s recommendation for several reasons: the Parks and Recreation Master Plan identifies a surplus of tennis courts in Moorpark; the single court at Tierra Rejada Park was already isolated from the adjacent tennis courts by fencing; Tierra Rejada Park is in close proximity to AVCP which has eight tennis courts; converting the courts at AVCP is not a viable option due to the agreement with MUSD; Mammoth Park only has one tennis court and converting the court to pickleball would eliminate all options for tennis north of Los Angeles Avenue; and converting one of the courts at Miller Park would limit some availability of tennis courts on the south/east side of Moorpark. In September, 2017 the single tennis court at Tierra Rejada Park was converted to four pickleball courts. The pickleball courts are very popular with Moorpark residents. However, within a few months of opening the courts, staff was contacted by many pickleball players requesting more courts, as well as lighted courts so that individuals could play after work during the late fall, winter and early spring months. The pickleball trend is not going away. More and more players are showing up on a regular basis to play and many neighboring cities are building more courts to stay abreast of the demand. During a typical weekend morning, there is usually a line at Tierra Rejada Park to play pickleball. It should be noted that although the courts that were installed at Tierra Rejada Park are popular, they are not ideal for competitive play. The layout of the courts was determined by the size of the existing tennis court and fencing, which ultimately keeps the courts relatively close to each other. Because of this, staff has been informed that many competitive players are leaving Moorpark to play in neighboring cities. Additionally, the courts at Tierra Rejada Park are not lighted. This is primarily due to the fact that the courts are within close proximity to neighboring homes. DISCUSSION During the August 15, 2019 Special Commission Meeting, the Commission requested a future agenda item regarding pickleball and options for more courts. This request was timely, as on September 9, 2019 staff received a letter from several Moorpark residents formally requesting more pickleball courts. The letter and signed petition is attached (See Attachment No. 1). On September 23, 2019, in anticipation of this meeting, staff posted Notice of a Public Meeting on every tennis court and pickleball court in Moorpark. Staff has received 90 Parks and Recreation Commission October 7, 2019 Page 3 several comments from Moorpark residents relative to this item (See Attachment No. 2). The majority of the comments received via email are from tennis players that are opposed to converting the tennis courts at Miller Park into pickleball courts. However, several have requested to leave one tennis court if the City is going to consider changing the courts. Staff believes that the only viable option for more pickleball courts in Moorpark at this time is to convert one or both of the tennis courts at Miller Park into pickleball courts. This is due to many of the same issues discussed by the Commission in 2016. According to the Parks and Recreation Master Plan, there is a surplus of eight tennis courts in Moorpark, since one of the courts at Tierra Rejada Park has already been converted to pickleball. Converting another court at Tierra Rejada Park would allow more courts during day time use. However, adding lights at Tierra Rejada Park to allow evening use is not an option due to the close proximity of the neighboring homes. Mammoth Park has the only tennis court north of Los Angeles Avenue and staff does not feel that it would be appropriate to convert this tennis court to pickleball, and converting one of the tennis courts at AVCP is not an option due to the use Agreement between the City and MUSD. There are several options that the Commission could consider regarding pickleball courts at Miller Park: Option A: Convert both tennis courts to six (6) pickleball courts (see Attachment No. 3) This option would allow for six pickleball courts and would cost approximately $225,000. It should be noted that most outdoor sport courts, including pickleball, are generally played in a north/south orientation. This is to allow for optimum use of the court by minimizing the impacts from the sun and glare. The tennis courts at Miller Park are already installed in the north/south orientation. However, the two tennis courts are separated by light standards. If both tennis courts were converted to six pickleball courts, two of the pickleball courts would be located directly in line with the existing light standards. This option would require removing and installing new sport lighting and modifying the perimeter fence and court surface to accommodate the courts. Option B: Convert one tennis court to four (4) pickleball courts (See Attachment No. 4) This option would allow for one tennis court and four pickleball courts, and would cost approximately $165,000. As in Option 1, staff recommends maintaining the north/south orientation and allowing more room between the courts for competitive play. This option would expand the existing tennis court east approximately fifteen feet to allow for more space between the courts. This work would require expanding the court surface, modifying the existing walkway, and relocating/modifying the fence and three light standards. 91 Parks and Recreation Commission October 7, 2019 Page 4 Option C: Convert one tennis court to two (2) pickleball courts (See Attachment No. 5) This option would allow for one tennis court and two pickleball courts, and would cost approximately $44,000. As stated previously, staff recommends maintaining the north/south orientation and allowing more room between and around the courts for competitive play. Three courts could be installed in an east/west orientation. However, this would not be ideal due to sun and glare exposure. Option D: Do not convert any courts to pickleball at this time Earlier this year, the Commission formed an Ad Hoc Committee to start the process of updating the Parks and Recreation Master Plan. Ideally, it would be beneficial to update the Master Plan before a decision was made regarding pickleball. However, at this time the Master Plan has been put on hold for at least eighteen months. This is primarily due to the fact that the City anticipates seeking advice from the community on several other items. Currently the Arts Master Plan is in full swing, as is the new Library, Civic Center Master Plan and most recently, the Join the Conversation campaign. Out of concern that the residents of Moorpark will get survey overload the update of the Parks and Recreation Master Plan has been put on hold. It should be noted that on July 19, 2019 the City Council adopted the City of Moorpark, Mission Statement, Strategies, Goals and Objectives (Objectives) for Fiscal Year 2019/20 and 2020/21. The Objectives are the building blocks that establish the priorities for each City department. They are thoughtfully identified by the City Council to support the City’s mission. Pickleball is not currently a City C ouncil Objective, and any work or funding for additional pickleball courts would need to be approved by the City Council with the understanding that one or more of the Objectives may not be completed within the next two year cycle. Additionally, the City has limited resources to fund new pickleball courts. Six new courts with lights would cost the City approximately $525,000. This is based on the concrete costs recently obtained by building the ball wall at Mountain Meadows Park and the costs associated with surfacing, nets and fencing for the pickleball courts that were installed at Tierra Rejada Park. Additionally, staff contacted a fencing contractor and MUSCO Sports Lighting to obtain a budget for lighting the courts, which was in excess of $90,000. FISCAL IMPACT The cost to convert both tennis courts at Miller Park to six pickleball courts is approximately $205,000. 92 Parks and Recreation Commission October 7, 2019 Page 5 The cost to convert one tennis court at Miller Park to two pickleball courts is approximately $30,000. Currently, there is no funding available in the Park Improvement Zone for Zone 2 due to the recent project to replace the playground equipment at Country Trail Park, Glenwood Park and Miller Park. However, there is funding available in the Community Wide Park Improvement Fund (PIF). The PIF is utilized for projects that benefit the entire community, such as improvements at AVCP. It is reasonable to assume that additional pickleball courts would provide a communitywide benefit due to the fact that many pickleball players will travel to Miller Park from all areas of Moorpark to play pickleball. However, the Commission should be mindful of the fact that there is approximately $1.6M in the PIF, and over $6.8M in projects that are identified in the Capital Improvement Program (CIP) that was approved by the City Council in June, 2019. The CIP includes projects such as the gym and building expansion, sport field lighting and a splash pad at AVCP. Ultimately, funding for this work will be determined by the City Council at a future date. STAFF RECOMMENDATION Select an option to recommend to the City Council regarding converting the tennis court(s) at Miller Park to pickleball courts. Attachments: 1. Letter from Moorpark residents and signed petition 2. Email responses regarding pickleball at Miller Park 3. Option 1 – Six pickleball courts 4. Option 2 – Four pickleball courts 5. Option 3 – Two pickleball courts 93 September 9, 2019 City of Moorpark , Mr Jeremy Laurentowski The pickleball community thanks you for adding the courts at Tierra Rejada Park, it has given us hours of joy and exercise. In fact pickleball has been growing so fast that we now are discussing adding more courts with improvements learned from the first courts. Adding new courts from scratch is a lot of work, time and money but there’s a solution, copy the very successful layout at the Rancho Community Park in Simi Valley on Erringer.(see pics) Two tennis courts were converted to six pickleball courts and the lighting was updated to bright LEDs - It's where all the players go, beginner through expert. It's a social activity with pickup games so six courts is the minimum needed to create the synergy and allow for leagues, tournament matches, round robin events, etc. Another active park will bring more shopping and dining to Moorpark as well as possible hotel guests. Many of the Moorpark PB players travel to Simi and Newbury Park for the larger courts with lighting, among other reasons, so adding only four new courts with lights will not be enough for the anticipated evening players resulting in an immediate shortage of night time PB courts. Thank you and please help us build on Moopark's "life can be this good" slogan. *5&.""UUBDINFOU 94 Name 5ignawre Address Email u,. i 3Ov$ [,Drr s RSt. 5'u�5Cr-W- - 6): - ll'' tar `�fV}►5 SrAia j{�A �f Cr / r�k 2 4 II ! .0 �( f V '* C T.c.r s g • 1 I ' Q r s Tvi t7T a , FAA;d 1 L1 &a/.afg-f-e- dui)e( c y@r ?.0 1. �a F q30 Ave.( 19 5ti �- .ta9enyw1`Co y qt 1. cz.k, L..Lcp._1. i tits ,t hi _, , t. , Ilse koogrA0r r wirlf 7:4f Pori ZU 2 Z l J77.-tlJ.Jew c-r ,sJ- L., ili-4 J.aaa /ER �'l = co---1-1 LI� AA isq Ackim // 6q '- /"V /15'4 jeiPa hio7167S, Co... cF(10 td ' ' [? (A 6L ,1 �1.cu h �q M .�i30� 4.. 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Sometimes they are already full and we go to Arroyo Vista or Tierra Rejada where one of the courts had already been converted and we never see anyone playing pickleball unless it's a weekend early in the morning. And then the pickleball courts there aren't full. There are plenty of people who could play pickleball who are just loitering and socializing despite there being open pickleball courts. Thanks for your time and please don't take more tennis courts away from the families of Moorpark. 2 To whom it may concern, I vote no NO for turning the Miller tennis court into pickleball courts. Me and my husband are playing tennis daily, usually at Arroyo Vista park.There are many instances when all the tennis courts are reserved by the Moorpark High school or by some Tennis leagues and it is very difficult to find any available tennis courts in these cases in Moorpark. Many times the ones from Tierra Rejada park and the ones from Miller park are occupied, especially after one of the tennis court from Tierra Rejada park was already converted into a pickleball court. Thank you, 3 I will not be able to attend this meeting, however I would like to share my opinion. I believe there is a need for a Pickleball hub. Just like there is a tennis center hub at Arroyo Vista, Pickleball has exploded to where it needs this kind of center also. I would suggest building new courts at the end of Arroyo Vista, where there is no pool. There is space and parking, and since it appears the pool isn't happening, this may be a solution. 8 pickleball courts would take up approximately 2 tennis courts in size. That would also leave room for the field hockey, soccer, Lacrosse, and other sports games that are played there. I believe that the interest in Pickleball outweighs the interest in a pool at this date. The maintenance is also less. This location would also affect less residents, as pickleball is noisy. You can view Rancho Conejo Playfields off of Ventu Park Rd. in Newbury Park as an example of a good Pickleball hub. It is a very social game, with people socializing as well as playing. I am a tennis player, but I also play Pickleball and see the need for some kind of facility. Thank you for your time. 4 Please do not convert Miller park tennis courts to pickle ball courts I vote no. Please consider workable alternatives don’t continue to take tennis courts away from tennis players. What about building new pickle ball courts at the far end of Arroyo Vista Park where there is space and parking already there and away from the neighbors. Thank you for getting tennis players input. *5&.""UUBDINFOU 98 5 To the Moorpark Board Members, I would like to give my input regarding the proposal to turn the 2 tennis courts at Miller Park into pickle ball courts: -tennis is a high school sport, so the courts are needed to give the students living in that end of Moorpark the opportunity to learn the game -it would make more sense to work with the school district to build pickle ball courts on the Junior High campus; the equipment needed for pickle ball is much more affordable than tennis for a good P.E. program the courts could be opened on the weekends and school holidays -in the future, the demand for more tennis courts will be very costly. To take out tennis courts at this time is short sighted, plain and simple I hope you will think through this proposed plan, look at the big picture and realize the needs for future tennis players. Best Regards, 6 To whom it may concern, Hello! Hope you had a great weekend. I noticed the sign on the Tennis Courts at Miller Park regarding the possible change of the courts to pickle ball courts. I unfortunately can’t make it to the meeting as I am a volunteer soccer coach for the city of Moorpark and have practice at that time that day but wanted to reach out for two reasons. 1. I 100% do not want to lose out on the tennis courts (at least one of them). I play on the courts 3-4x a week and the tennis and basketball court was a slight factor in my decision to buy a home here in Moorpark and right by Miller Park. In fact, I am convincing one of my friends to move from Thousand Oaks to Moorpark because he too loves the tennis court. Especially after they just got re-done, we love it. I understand pickle ball is growing but Tennis is still a very popular and a great sport. We like to run around a lot more and pickle ball does not offer that unfortunately. I would suggest possibly removing the bocce ball and putting that on a different spot in the park and maybe add pickle ball courts there? I am not sure but again, definitely do not want to lose out on the tennis court. It would be very upsetting. 2. Why not add a local small dog park? I talk to a tremendous amount of people with dogs in our community that all walk their dogs through Miller park and they all wish this park had a small closed off gated dog park. I didn’t know removing the tennis courts or any court is even an option, but if you are going to remove one of the courts, lets make it a local dog park! Moorpark, especially here near Miller park, needs a small dog park. It would make a lot of people happy and bring the community closer together. That would be my suggestion. Pickle ball already had 4 courts (same size as 1 tennis court yes, but it is 4 individual courts that fit up to 4 people each for 16 people). I say we take one tennis court and switch that to a gated dog park, then Miller park has EVERYTHING it could have. Basketball court Tennis court 99 Pickle ball court Mini dog park Grass Benches/parties Swings,slides, etc. It would be a premier park if we could somehow add a dog park. Again though, if no dog park, no matter what, we have to keep a tennis court. Thank you for time and consideration. Hope this works out because I love this park. 7 PLEASE do not turn the tennis courts at Miller Park into pickle ball courts. You already have a park that has pickle ball. I have been a tennis player at Miller for over 20 years. I’m a Moorpark resident, and this would severely impact the tennis community! This park has always been special for tennis players. I hope you reconsider another park, or using more courts at Tierra Rejada park! I will fight this to the end! Thank you for your decision not to make Miller into a pickle ball mess. 8 Hello, We have a group of girls that play tennis at Miller Park every week and would hope that you DO NOT convert these to Pickleball courts. If anything, convert the remaining Tennis court down Tierra Rejada to a full Pickleball park and leave these at Miller Park as Tennis courts. Thank you, 9 Dear Sirs, My wife and I are Tennis players, we play at Tierra Rejada Park primarily but sometimes with friends at Miller Park. While we have heard all the buzz about Pickle ball as one of the fastest growing sports and its very popular right now, I would hate to see both courts at Miller Park be converted to Pickleball courts. Pickleball is a new sport and it has a lot of hype and interest today, but will there be in the future, who knows, it may be a fad and die off in the future. Tennis has been around for over a Hundred years and will be around in the future and players on the East end of Moorpark should have courts available to them at Miller Park. However, I do believe we should have more than one Pickleball court available in Moorpark, so I am urging the Parks and Recreation Council to not convert both Tennis courts to Pickleball courts and to only convert one court. Additionally, if one Tennis court at the Arroyo Vista Park was also converted Pickleball, Pickleballers would have 3 courts availed to them, throughout Moorpark and located to serve players throughout town. I emailed from my other email earlier today, 20 years ago Paddle tennis was the hot new sport, today, it's hard to find anyone playing it or courts, it too was a fad, tennis will be around for the next 50 years 100 Respectfully, 10 Good morning I strongly OPPOSE converting either of the tennis courts at Miller Park to Pickelball courts or adding lines for Pickelball. I play there two times a week both morning and evening and have been for several years. Adding lines for Pickelball makes it very difficult to play tennis!! A suggestion for the pickeball courts on Terra Rejada Park would be to add lights so the courts can be used in the evening all year round. Please consider my feed back when making your decision. Thank you 11 I write at your invitation regarding pickleball courts at Miller Park. I have lived in Mountain Meadows since 1989. I use just about all of the parks in Moorpark for exercise, playing with my granddaughter, walking dogs and tennis. While I use Tierra Rejada and Arroyo Vista Parks most frequently to play tennis, I did use the Miller Park tennis courts regularly until they were too often “rented out” for lessons. (I use the “ “ because I was not always convinced the court[s] had been rented, nor did I like seeing a mom or dad and their kids turned away so disgruntled tennis players from Simi clubs could be “coached” at Miller Park.) Let me give you my experience with pickleball in Moorpark. Before you converted the best of three tennis courts at Tierra Rejada Park to pickleball, pickleball aficionados used the tennis courts. That was unsatisfactory due to noise, not only from the ball on the paddles, but from the players themselves. Putting in the pickleball courts solved neither. In fact, the addition of the pickleball courts has resulted in even greater disturbance at the park. Music, shouting (including some guy who yells “play ball” way too often) is not welcome, nor are the parking woes caused by the pickleballers. That said, pickleball is popular. The courts are full at times on the weekends and the players do not appear to purposely interrupt others. Given my experience, I do not think pickleball and tennis should be neighbors at Miller Park. Further, that parking lot is often close to full from current usage. If the experience at Tierra Rejada Park is repeated, it will be difficult to find a place to park at Miller Park too. Since the players seem to be predominantly older, I rarely if ever see them using bikes (as I most often do to play tennis) or walking to the park. So, I think the options are: [1] return the Tierra Rejada park court to tennis - place pickleball courts at Arroyo Vista at the end away from the tennis courts to address noise concerns where there is ample parking, and provide lights and a covered meeting place like the tennis courts enjoy; or, [2] if you are going to use Miller Park, return the Tierra Rejada park court to tennis 101 and convert both Miller Park courts to pickleball, as the yelling would complement that on the basketball court. The second both court option may inconvenience tennis players in the area, but since I am not optimistic that the pickleballers can contain themselves when a point goes their way, let them bellow while the hoopsters celebrate a 20 foot jumper. If cost is a factor, and as a place from which to reallocate budget funds, consider the excessive sums paid to the VCSD that Moorpark incurs for little to no additional safety, as the quality and dedication of its citizens are the primary reason our city is a great place to live, not ever increasing police presence. I will try to make the meeting, but since I would be coming from Bunker Hill in DTLA, I felt that I should get you this note. 12 Dear Moorpark Parks and Recreation Commission, I am writing to express my concern about the potential of removing the tennis courts at Miller Park. I would urge the commission to please NOT change either of the tennis courts to Pickleball courts. As a neighborhood park, Miller Park and its tennis courts are used by the youth of the community to play tennis. Changing the tennis courts into pickleball courts would take away yet another place where the kids in Moorpark can learn and play the game of tennis. While I understand that Pickleball is a growing sport, it is also the fact that Pickleball is played primarily, if not exclusively, by adults. There are no pickleball teams for kids in middle school or high school. Where are the kids of the community going to hone their tennis skills for life if there are no courts for them to play on? Kids that live near Miller Park can walk there and use the facilities without having to have a parent drive them. Taking away tennis courts in a neighborhood park would limit yet another place for the youth to play outside and get exercise. It would be better to remove tennis courts at a larger facility like Arroyo Vista that has a good number of tennis courts already and players usually have more options to choose from. Changing the courts at Miller Park would be devastating to the kids of Moorpark. Sincerely, 102 ITEM: 8.A. Correspondence Comment 13 I am a tennis player and pickleball player. I love both and do see a need for lighted courts. I think 1 court at Miller park should be turned into 3 courts and 1 left as a tennis court. Years ago arroyo vista park was so crowded at night that Miller park was the only alternative for night tennis. I vote for more pickleball courts with lights. 14 Please, please do Not destroy more tennis courts for pickle ball. We need our tennis courts for current players, USTA league play (which brings Moorpark dollars), and for future young players. Every time I drive by the pickle ball courts on Tierra Rejada they are empty. Also, at Rancho Simi Park in Simi, 2 tennis courts were destroyed and turned into pickle ball courts and those are almost always empty also. Now, on busy weekends for tennis, players have to wait for a court because all 6 tennis courts are busy and there sit the pickle ball courts empty. Please, please do not make that same mistake in Moorpark. 15 Please do not turn the tennis courts into pickelball courts. One of the two is okay, but not both. 16 Love pickle ball. More courts. Yes! 17 Would like to see a pickleball court at Miller Park. 18 I support the conversion of the tennis courts at Miller Park to Pickleball courts. 19 I heard that there will be a meeting this evening about the possible conversion of tennis courts to pickleball courts. I am not available to come to the meeting however I am writing to support the construction of lighted pickleball courts as there are not any in Moorpark. Please build more pickleball courts to accommodate the hundreds of players in the area. We love Pickleball and it is the fastest growing sport in the USA 20 YES. YES. YES. 21 I am writing in response to a notice of public input for converting tennis courts to pickleball courts in Moorpark. I think this is a great idea since pickleball is growing in popularity and Moorpark needs to keep up with this great sport! Thank you!! 22 Dear Moorpark Parks and Recreation Department, I learned that there will be a meeting this evening about the possible conversion of Tennis courts to Pickleball courts. While I am not available to make the meeting, I am writing to support the construction of lighted Pickleball courts as Moorpark has none. I play sometimes at the existing courts on Tierra Rejada but there are too many courts on too small of a space and there are no lights for playing in the evenings. Please build more courts to accommodate the hundreds of players in the Moorpark, Simi and Thousand Oaks areas. Thank you! 23 Hello Moorpark Parks, I support the conversion of Miller Tennis Courts to Pickleball Courts. I hope that you would be able to add a minimum of 4 PB courts, if not a full 6 in order to establish a proper PB location. Many residents from Moorpark travel to locations outside of MP to play PB, like Simi or Rancho Conejo in Thousand 103 Oaks/Newbury Park. Those courts all have crowds and players waiting to play most days. Having courts in MP would allow residents to stay within the city to play vs travel to outside cities. 24 Hi, I was just informed that the Park and Rec district is thinking about converting the tennis courts at Miller Park. As a tennis player I hope you do not do this. There are only two courts at Miller Park and they get plenty of use especially after work on week days and on weekends. At the very least please leave one tennis court. I think another option is you can paint pickleball lines on the tennis courts and have moveable nets with wheels. I've seen this done at Lemon Park in Simi Valley. Then you could play tennis or pickleball on the courts. And it's a much cheaper option. 25 NO on destroying tennis courts for PB or any other purpose. Tennis courts are a valuable Community asset with a replacement cost in the hundreds of thousands of dollars - PB can be played on any flat surface with an easily available kit costing $15.00! Please be wise and not fooled by the aggressive PB "ambassadors" who gather the same groups from all over the state to show up at these community meetings and spread their well scripted propaganda. The ruling bodies that have fallen for their agenda have regretted it with newly activated and disgruntled constituents. The wise ones find a non destructive way of appeasing them. Please be wise and thank you for serving all the people of Moorpark. 104 7 , MILLER PARK ITEM: 8.A. Attachment 3 . PICKLE BALL LAYOUT - OPTION A r • EXPAND COURT AND MODIFY ' • " ,�. - - •..-.'........�..__,_ 0, .••..-;J- .'"k�.PERIM ETER FENCE • .r ...rt, , . ,, . ► V+ . • :• . PICKLEBALL COURT { N. • ' .••• r� rrr i ' EXISTING COURT LIGHTING. NEW • - *�-,' •• r COURT LIGHTING IS REQUIRED. .? . � - ti►.. 1. e . t i1 1 r - 4 L - .f -- -- -- - t 1� . 1 1 , , • 14 Ai .- 1 } - . ; NORTH p _ .-r fir"` EXPAND COURT AND MODIFY • /.•..' SCALE N.T.S. 4 - PERIMETER FENCE 3 •� DATE 10/0105 MILLER PARK ITEM: 8.A. Attachment 4 PICKLE BALL LAYOUT - OPTION B ' - r_ EXPAND COURT AND-MODIFY , • PERIMETER FENCE, _ { i , • TENNIS COURT TO RE-MAN -- - • • •--- ' PICKLEBALL COURT .•-- 1+R � 111 •..•, iii , . iii • r..•F 1 I M .• RELOCATE (3) COURT LIGHTS. l '-, 111111111111 .. 'f* .. Pt litswiti imeht w ' T II 1 . C r- - I ti • . 1 1 • •r` ' k�' MODIFY WALKWAY . , r � ;� ;sem• - ,' ,� -# r • .•� _ NORTH ' EWA - SCALE N.T.S. BATE 10/4/19106 MILLER PARK ITEM: 8.A. Attachment 5 .' PICKLE BALL LAYOUT - OPTION C . • ••�-w - �. . -\r. /fr: - ' • . 4. S �Y '• 4.... 'J, Mgr•••444. - MM�M/rr- v• . .`1 a...a. .4� '___•_.v•N.0„ 4 . •. •- • , 1 111; '4 IDICKLEBALL COURT _ • L • TENNIS COIiRT TO REMAIN .... - - -••t - • - . ' �r • M . , ...., a..^...m......... _ • ..r- 9 J. • • ti r - I . t i I. �• .I a . ` . . _ I # . 7."'+ * - - '� til. _ --.. •.` i ► / .• • r ♦ i �+r AIL { 1I. ... raffia'• + # • S.- :. . 1'7'.'" ' ' : C.) . ► , NORTH ., r �' . } _ .�j441 • tati SCALE N.T.S. ' R Q •• DATE 1014119107•