Local leaders are pumping the breaks on a proposed covered pickleball court in Buckley.
When the Enumclaw Pickleball Association first pitched the court to the Buckley City Council, they were looking to get a Memorandum of Understanding (a non legally-binding document that laws out a schedule of project milestones and completion dates) approved quickly due to a looming Washington State Recreation and Conservation Office (RCO) grant application deadline.
The pickleball group expected the RCO Community Outdoor Athletic Facilities grant application period to open in May, hence why it was working to sign an agreement in short order.
However, according to City Administer Courtney Brunell, the RCO’s grant application period was announced to open in fall 2023 or even early 2024, so the city council will be taking more time to discuss the project, maybe especially in relation to an expected budget deficit.
What’s being proposed is a covered pickleball-dedicated (meaning no shared sports) 12-court facility, estimated to cost $2 million.
The Enumclaw Pickleball Association has already raised $500,000, but is hoping to be awarded the Community Outdoor Athletic Facilities grant’s full $1.5 million allowance. If awarded the grant, the group would donate funds to the city, which would then go through the permitting and construction process in exchange for the association to retain certain privileges when it came to facility use.
The council is discussing three potential areas for the court to be built at — Miller Park, off River Avenue and near state Route 410, and close to the Rainier School off Collins Road.
EXPENCES/REVENUE ESTIMATES
While some locals have expressed concerns about the project, proponents have claimed the city stands to bring in a lot of visitors and, with them, revenue for the city and local businesses.
Edward Hechter, former CEO of PickleballCentral and former Plateau local, said a covered, dedicated court would attract pickleball players for miles because most courts are open air and share space with other sports.
“You need very little space to meet the needs of an awful lot of players. But it also means that with a small amount of space, you can attract an awful lot of players to your venue or facility,” he said during a council public comment period. “… It is a tourism business. People travel to play pickleball.”
Beyond bringing in business bucks, tournaments can also source of revenue to offset maintenance costs covered by the city, he added. As an example, one of the state’s other only covered courts, located in Mount Vernon, brings in $14,000 per tournament, and holds up to three tournaments a year, a representative of the local pickleball group told the Courier-Herald.
Buckley has produced an early expenses/revenue estimate, and though numbers are certain to change, the city is hoping for a net positive.
On the expenses side, the need for a program coordinator, assistants, and staff, various supplies and equipment, utilities, and more could cost the city up to $252,000 on the high-end of the scale.
However, with membership and tournament revenue, league and camp rentals, and contracted vendors, Buckley estimates up to $643,000 in revenue on the high-end, which would not only cover expenses but bring in money for the city’s general fund.
Although the city hopes to make more money than it thinks the pickleball facility will drain, it’s more than possible unforeseen circumstances will bring the project out of the black and into the red.
However, Enumclaw Pickleball Association member and project spearhead Cathy Dahlquist said she believes the expenses estimates are inflated and the revenue estimates conservative.
“The MOU provides for a membership program. If membership is capped at 500 members at $600/annually, $50/month that would total $300,000/annually from one program,” she wrote in an email interview, comparing that to the city’s high-end estimate of only $240,000.
At the moment, the local association’s Facebook page has more than 400 members.
Dahlquist added that she expects the court to be run like any other park in the city, without on-site staffing, which would further reduce expected expenses.
BUDGET SHORTFALL
One of the main issues opponents of the court have isn’t actually with the court itself — but the city’s current financial situation.
“Your consideration of a pickleball court is unimaginable when this community’s financial picture is so bleak,” one commenter said during a March 14 council meeting, noting that a recent financial report stated Buckley would have a multi-hundred thousand dollar deficit by the end of 2024. “Are you trying to ruin our community?”
The city only had estimates of what the shortfall could be back then, but recently announced it expects a $690,000 deficit by the end of 2024, if mitigating measures are not taken.
According Brunell, staff recommended during the April 18 council meeting (after print deadline) to re-allocate certain expenses to bring the deficit down to $454,000.
“The city does have a very healthy reserve, as well as access to ARPA dollars, and other ideas to increase revenue that may further decrease the deficit,” she said, adding many cities go through this sort of thing, and this is the start of the conversation for how to address it. “We will also be presenting an option for a levy lid lift, B&O tax, or [0.1%] sales tax increase for public safety – but it’s unlikely that staff will recommend any of those options at this time.”
How this shortfall could affect the pickleball project is unclear — the Enumclaw Pickleball Association plans to cover all up-front costs through construction, so what costs the city might have to pay before the project is complete, if any, is unclear.
