City of Powell River council voted at the November 15 meeting not to apply for funding for upgrade projects for both the Townsite tennis courts and lawn bowling greens.
Representatives from both Powell River Tennis Club and Powell River Lawn Bowling Club asked the city to apply for funding for improvements. Dave Douglas, director of financial services, prepared a report for the November 1 committee-of-the-whole meeting. He wrote that there is a grant opportunity through the community infrastructure improvement fund, a new national program to rehabilitate and improve existing community infrastructure, but the city would have to contribute 50 per cent funding. He estimated the cost of both projects was $400,000, which meant the city would have to allocate $200,000.
Douglas reported the city didn’t have the funds at this time. As well, Powell River Community Forest Ltd. was currently not in a position to recommend any awards, Douglas said. He recommended the city not apply for a grant at this time.
Larry Berger, representing the tennis club, made a presentation at the council meeting. The club is requesting that council include in the city’s budget the maintenance, repair and upgrading of the Townsite tennis courts, the only ones left in Powell River. “We feel that the repairs and upgrades to the courts should be included in the 2013 city budget,” Berger said. “We believe it is in the best interest of all stakeholders, city, taxpayers and users, to prioritize the required repairs and improvements to the tennis courts in 2013.”
Berger said the club has grown to about 60 members, from ages 12 to 80. While club members are the most active users of the courts, they’re not the most numerous, he said. Brooks Secondary School physical education classes, residents, tourists and participants of parks, recreation and culture department programs are actually more numerous, he said.
Berger provided a package of information that included letters of support and pictures showing the deterioration of the courts. “Powell River has a first-rate complex, pool, ice rink, park facilities, harbour and ball fields,” he said. “I will submit to you that the tennis courts are really an embarrassment and compare poorly to all of those other facilities.”
The courts were built in 1929 and are a city facility. Past requests to the city to address the declining state of the courts has produced little or nothing for the past 20 years, Berger said. However, city staff did respond to a request to have the courts cleaned recently, he added. “Unfortunately, while it improved the appearance of the courts, power washing also made evident the rapid deterioration of the surface and may have even contributed to the deterioration,” he said. “The surface is so fragile now and pitting so rapidly.”
Additional delays to repair the courts will result in increased costs to the city, Berger said, pointing to the $28,000 difference between a 2010 estimate to resurface the courts and the 2012 estimate by the same company.
“I’m not a great player, but I can tell you the poor playability of the courts is frustrating,” Berger said. “Probably more importantly, it’s a safety hazard to the participants and as such, I suggest a risk to the city.”
Later in the meeting, council passed a motion to not apply for a community infrastructure improvement fund grant at this time for the repair and resurface of the Townsite tennis courts and for the replacement of the lawn bowling greens and to refer the issue to 2013 budget discussions.
Councillors Jim Palm and Russell Brewer both said the courts needed some work.
“I’m very glad to see this is coming forward to the 2013 budget for further discussion,” said Palm.
“This is one of the city’s assets that we are using to sell ourselves to outsiders,” said Brewer, adding the work fits in with the city’s asset management plan.
