ABOVE: This location, on the north side of the Jeffrey Kot Fields soccer complex parking lot, was chosen by the Fairmont Park Board for pickleball courts at its meeting on Tuesday. The choice is a recommendation, which now goes to the City Council for further discussion.

FAIRMONT – The location for new pickleball courts was selected by the Fairmont Park Board on Tuesday, at what was technically its first meeting of the year, since enough members were present to vote on motions.

Three locations were presented to the board, one replacing the skate park, one on the north side of the Jeffrey Kot Fields Soccer parking lot and the other on the south side of the Jeffrey Kot Fields Soccer parking lot. Public Works Director Matthew York said these options were chosen after discussions with pickleball players.

“We had a wonderful hour-long discussion about the pickleball courts,” he said. “We found out that there’s a lot of different thought processes when it comes to pickleball and a lot of different wants regarding a pickleball complex, so what we did is for the initial thought was to put together three different proposal areas.”

While they drew it up as an option to present, York said he doesn’t believe the south side of the parking lot would work.

“You’ve got their shed right there where they keep all their stuff,” he said. “You’ve got that south soccer field. I’ve just been out there when the kids are coming for practice, and that’s where they all park down in that corner, and that’s where they all walk back and forth there.”

The estimated price for both the soccer parking lot option and skate park option is $880,000, which includes eight courts and lighting, but the skate park would come with a recommended new bathroom amenity, which would cost around $200,000.

Board Member Craig Nelson asked if they could just do four courts instead of eight. York said they could, but today the most important thing is to make a decision on where the courts would go, regardless of whether it’s four or eight.

Protection from the wind was Nelson’s next concern for the pickleball courts. York said there would be wind shielding, with a screen similar to the ones at Fairmont’s tennis courts at Veterans Park.

Regarding the skate park, Board Member Joni O’Brien raised concerns about the animal shelter nearby.

“I was thinking of the animals, to be honest,” she said. “I went to the animal shelter on a Saturday, and I just talked to the people and asked them, ‘Is this going to be a problem?’ They said, ‘No, it won’t be a problem for the dogs; it will be a problem for the players, because the dogs will bark the entire time.'”

With putting the pickleball courts on the soccer complex, York raised concerns about recreational activities being stacked on one side of town.

“We are starting to make a recreation desert for areas on the north side of town; that’s just my opinion,” he said. “We have the aquatic park, tennis courts, natural soccer fields, pickleball courts now, beach volleyball and swimming areas, all within a small swath of space.”

The discussion then went to funding. Given there is a little over $12 million in Local Option Sales Tax (LOST) funds that now have no home, Nelson asked if some of that money could be used for this project. York said it could indeed.

“That’s a discussion that needs to be on at city council level,” he said. “If we’re not going to do one big project, or we’re going to do a bunch of little projects. This is the perfect little project to do.”

A motion was then made by Nelson to recommend to City Council that eight courts be built on the north side of the Jeffrey Kot Fields parking lot, and that it be paid for using LOST funds. O’Brien seconded the motion, and it was passed unanimously.

York said he will try to get it on the agenda for the upcoming City Council meeting, but otherwise it will for sure be on for July’s meeting.

In other business:

— Tuesday’s meeting was the first for Joni O’Brien and Jodi Pouliot as board members. At the May meeting, O’Brien had expressed interest in joining, to which Whitmore had encouraged her to apply. Pouliot was a presenter at the May meeting for her sand toy library idea at Gomsrud Park, which she said was going well as they iron out little issues here and there.

— Public Works Superintendent Nick Lardy said they have received the new playground equipment for West Belle Vue Park, and installation will be happening as soon as they can.