City officials receive update on tennis court upgrades

Upgrading the tennis courts at Weiser’s Memorial Park would benefit the high school and middle school tennis programs and could also provide an economic boost by bringing tournaments to the community, supporters of the project said.

 Weiser High School Principal Dave Davies recently updated members of the city council on the effort to upgrade the tennis courts. He was joined by WHS tennis coach Angie Soulen and middle school coach Melanie Price, who are heading up the fundaising effort, along with parents and other members of the community. 

 As of Oct. 9, about $12,000 had been raised toward the upgrades and two fundraisers have been held, including a 10-hour tennis marathon. As soon as the fundraising goal of $30,000 to $40,000 is reached, the school district plans to move forward with the work, weather permitting. 

 School administrators, coaches and community tennis boosters are hoping to have the courts resurfaced in time for the 2019 high school tennis season next spring.

 “The idea is to do this as quick as we can once we have the funds,” Davies said.

 Currently, the tennis court surfaces are plain cement with painted lines and are not up to standards for hosting high school district tournaments. The cement is sloughing off in places and the courts can get slippery when it rains.

 The plan is to hire a contractor that specializes in tennis courts to fill the cracks and put a new non-slip surface on the courts. A new surface would include a two-inch layer and another four-inch layer on top of that. The work would not require tearing out the existing cement courts.

 The school district solicited and received three bids from companies. The highest quote came in at $42,850 and the lowest was $30,750. The cost to dig up the existing cement for a total renovation would cost $30,000 per court, or an estimated $150,000 for all five courts.

 The average tennis court surface lasts about 10 years before it needs to be replaced, officials said. There was some concern that there is no vapor barrier on the concete courts, which were constructed in the early 1960s. 

 Davies said the school district has a 10-year facilities list for upgrades to buildings, but the tennis court resurfacing is not on it. The other route to getting the project done, which is the one the district and community members are pursuing, is to raise the money for the upgrades.

 The tennis courts are on city property at the park and are owned by the city. They are used by the public and in the spring are heavily used by middle school and high school tennis teams. WHS hosts its matches there and does the primary maintenance of the courts during the high school tennis season. The tennis team a few years ago bought all new nets for the tennis courts that belong to the high school.

 The coaches said the tennis programs at the high school and middle school are growing. Between the two programs, there are 80 kids involved in the sport. In February, school district trustees approved adding middle school tennis as a sanctioned district sport and allocated funds to hire a coach.

 City officials were supportive of the fundraising effort but said there was no money in the current fiscal year’s budget to pledge to the project. There may be some way the city could help with the project in the future.

 Mayor Diana Thomas said there may need to be an agreement or MOU drafted between the city and school district that covers who will be responsible for maintaining the courts once they are upgraded. There is also the issue of the school district making improvements to city property that might require a joint agreement of some sort.  

 Once the tennis courts are upgraded, the public will still be able to use them. There was some discussion about how to make sure the new surface lasts and do not get torn up. Restricting public access to the courts was not warranted, officials said. 

 Davies said other than when the tennis teams are using them for practice and matches, the plan is to keep the courts open to the community.

 Anybody can contribute to the tennis court resurfacing project. Checks can be sent to Weiser High School and payable to Weiser High School. Include tennis courts project in the memo line so the funds go where directed.

 For more information, email weisertennisproject@gmail.com.