HomeMy WebLinkAbout2025-02-13 Item 1HFrom:Peter Henson
To:City Clerk
Subject:Pickleball Expansion
Date:Wednesday, February 12, 2025 1:32:39 PM
NOTICE: This message originated outside of The City of Palm Springs -- DO NOT CLICK on links or open attachments unless you are sure the content is safe.
City Councilmembers
Under “BACKGROUND” in the Pickleball Expansion documents the growing needs of the Pickleball community are cited. What was not specified was that the need is visible from Mesquite Ave. every morning as you drive by in the form of large numbers of picklers queuing up to play. These picklers are the community and their queuing up to play represents the need. I seek that their views be given primary consideration.
When the pickleball courts are crowded in the a.m. someone always invariably opined that the unused tennis court be converted to provide 16 Pickleball courts. As I am a regular player I have heard this wish many hundreds of times over the years but it never came to pass at an estimated $100,000 for new surface and conversion ($6,000 per court).
This goal was discarded immediately when to our pleasant surprise the proposed 24 court plan seeking our participation was announced. Transparency was 100% as many of us became involved. (I championed a backboard). The key element was that the design phasing would allow continuous play during construction and certainly not impact us, or the seasonal renters. Specifically, 12 courts would be completed to the west. We would then play on them while the existing 12 were re-done. A completion date was of no consequence asplay would be uninterrupted.
As time went on rumor had it that this plan being presented to you folks impacts play. I say rumor because even though I tried and others have sought answers by e-mail to Mary Barsaleau of the AdHoc Committee she simply forwards it to Park and Rec with the response that it is not for the AdHoc to share info. Other E-mail to Park and Rec never received any response. On January 27th. I received the e-mail below indicating there would be no play at DeMuth in April but nothing about the completion date. This issue has also beenthe subject of public comments before the Rec Commission. Please note the bulletin board below which has never had any information on seasonal closure, the AdHoc committee or their identities. If they play with us we simply do not know them as they have not deigned to share any information with the impacted picklers.
The idea that if AdHoc members play with us during the crowded hours and would not identify as such and share info while we chat waiting to play is hard to accept. Mary Barsaleau who is a member but does not play or associate with us has a financial interest in this Project which is obviously problematic. Either way how can they have represented the main group of players if there is no intercourse?
Now, in reading the Project description on the agenda we see that there is a deadline for bids but none for the key point which is the completion date which is normally a key part of a construction contract.
Rumor has it that the 2025-2026 season is kaput.
What is not a rumor is that if you poll the majority of Palm Springs resident picklers and seasonal visitors and ask them if they would prefer the 24 court Project with seasonal closure for $6,200,000 or just do what everybody repeatedly said over the years, simply re-surface and convert the now available unused tennis court giving a total of 16 courts at a cost of $100,000 with no seasonal closure, they would immediately select the latter. Come some morning and ask. I have no doubt how my non pickler neighbors would vote if they knewthe projected cost per court ($6,200,000 divided by 24) is a quarter million plus versus $6,000.
If anyone advocates to the Council that the picklers have been consulted and voted affirmatively for this project then that is semantical deception. The statement is past tense. Our “signing on” was back then under a no closure representation and we have had no affirmative involvement in issues not related to Pickleball courts.
While the seasonal picklers can rent down valley or elsewhere those of us who have permanent residences in Palm Springs would not be near any other venue. However, as I stressed repeatedly to Park and Rec, these seasonal folks need to make plansnow. It is already too late for the seasonal players who have departed.
As the only known notification given was on January 27th, to one individual with no completion date, our sad conclusion is that the main body of picklers were not timely notified to mitigate any complaints like this to the Council at your next meeting.
As the Indian Wells Tennis Gardens were built in 9 months, in fairness to your resident constituents and our regular seasonal visitors we seek that you restructure the Project, or simply resurface 16 courts for $100,000 as explained or include a completion date of 6 months in this Project contract.
Questions welcomed
Pete Henson83 CaravanPALM SPRINGS CA.760-322-8056
02/13/2025
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Sent from my iPad
02/13/2025
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From:paul barnard
To:City Clerk
Subject:Pickleball Expansion
Date:Wednesday, February 12, 2025 11:39:45 AM
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Council Members
Here is our prediction of how things will work out if you abandon the original plan
which built 12 courts that the picklers could play on while the other 12 were finished.
The season starts in October and crowding increases to our current time frame.
There have been thousands of visitors, some daily, weekly, or monthly that have left
with no knowledge other than there will we be courts to play on upon their return.
Their is no way to reach them if the courts are shut down. They will all return as is
their habit and find there are no courts available.
Wanting to play they will go to the Rancho Mirage courts as they are the closest.
They will be jammed up by their regular players plus this influx. They will not return.
Nobody, including our locals wants this. We all had the opportunity for input under the
condition that play would not be suspended. The seasonal players here now will be
leaving quite possibly with no certainty.
Best solution is to go back to the original plan. Next best is to convert the fallow tennis
court and have 16 new courts for next season. Next best is to finish by October
2025.
sincerely yours
\Paul Barnard
02/13/2025
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From:Jim Seavey
To:City Clerk
Subject:Thursday"s City Council Meeting....
Date:Tuesday, February 11, 2025 8:04:35 PM
Attachments:PBCourts.pdf
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unless you are sure the content is safe.
Please forward the attached document re; the upcoming request for
approval of the current pickleball court development/building plan to all
council members ASAP so they may review it prior to the meeting.
Thanks,
Jim
"Attitude reflects leadership."
"Travel is fatal to bigotry, prejudice and hate."
"In order for people to respect the law, first, the law must be respectable."
"I am only responsible for what I say, not for what you understand."
"Stand By Me" Playing for Change | Song Around The World
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Us-TVg40ExM
02/13/2025
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To: Palm Springs City Council Members February 11, 2025
Subject: Pickleball Court Staff Report for 2/13.2025 Council Meeting
I will address each area of the aforementioned document as follows:
Recommendation:
1. The plan should NOT be approved.
2. Approve Amendment 2.
3. Do NOT authorize ANYONE to approve any/all necessary documents; it is time to
rein in this project and fix the glaring mistakes/omissions.
Background:
The Pickleball Ad-Hoc Group does not represent the majority of the players at Demuth
Park. Mary Bsteleau was appointed to this group during its initial formation. Ms.
Barselau is a vendor of Pickleball Teaching Services to the City of Palm Springs and, as
a result, her inclusion as a member of this group is a HUGE conflict of interest. Her
opinions do not reflect those of the players at Demuth Park. Her interest is making
money utilizing city facilities. And, to make matters worse, she was allowed to
select/appoint many of the members of the Ad-Hoc Group. Several of the members of
the group do not play pickleball at Demuth Park.
As a result, any and all input from the Ad-Hoc Group should be discarded. The goal of
the group is listed as follows:
“The goal was to create a concept that reflects the needs of the user as well
improving the usable space between the parking lot and the pickleball courts for
all.”
This goal has not been achieved by the current design/plan for the following reasons:
1. This plan was intended to establish 24 new pickleball courts at Demuth Park. The
current plan includes a picnic area and an arboretum. Neither of these items have
anything to do with Pickleball Courts.
First, trees are the bane of tennis and pickleball courts; trees have leaves and leaves
come off of trees very easily; with wind being the major contributor to this activity, and
here in Palm Springs we have wind, lots and lots of wind.
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The southwest corner of the existing pickleball courts is a continual problem due to the
pine needles that land on the courts from the trees immediately to the west of the courts.
Why on earth should more trees be planted on the north side of the courts when they
have nothing to do with pickleball courts. And, there is the issue of the space to the north
of the courts being very much needed for additional parking! More on this issue further
on.
There is an existing picnic ground 100 feet west of the existing pickleball courts. We do
not need a picnic area on the north side of the courts. We do not need trees on the north
side of the courts.
What we do need are things that we do not have today:
1.We need wind screens. The new courts require wind screens on all four sided of
the courts.
The only access to the courts we have today is from the north. As a result it is not
practical to have wind screens on the north side of the courts because people
waiting to play would not be able to see when courts become available for play
and this would cause even more time to be wasted getting players from concluded
games off the courts and the players for the new game replacing them on the
courts.
Because there needs to be wind screens on the north side of the courts (the
direction the prevailing winds come from 90+% of the time) seating outside the
courts in this area is a waste of money because no one will be able to see anything
inside the court area due to the wind screens. And, because the entry/exit points
for the courts are NOT in this area no players will be congregating in this area.
2.The entire area around the courts needs to have an isolation zone between the
court fences and any landscaped area.
We have two major problems today due to the sprinklers for the grass spraying
water on the courts and the slope of the land being north to south causing all rain
water and landscapitng water to run off the landscaping on the north side of the
courts onto the courts.
When this happens all of the decomposed granite that the Parks and Rec
Department has placed on the north side of the courts washes onto the courts.
This, coupled with all the sand that comes with this creates excess wear and tear
to the court surface and as a result resurfacing is required prematurely. This is not
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addressed anywhere in the proposed design.
3.Today, we have 12 courts which equals a maximum of 48 people playing at a
time. It is quite common, during the busy season (Oct-Nov thru Mar/April) to
have 40 people congregated outside of the courts during the busy hours each
morning of the week waiting their turn to get onto the courts to play. The number
of players waiting to play can be greater during weekends in which more out of
town players are present for advertised non-pickleball events.
The existing parking lot has 35 parking spaces plus two handicap spaces. The
animal shelter administration is not happy with the pickleball players parking on
“their” street; the street has 17 parking spaces. But, the pickleball players have no
choice because there is inadequate parking in the parking lot adjacent to the
pickleball courts. Sunny Dunes, north of the courts, has 15 parking spaces on the
court side of the street.
4.The money that is being wasted on trees and seating and picnic space on the north
side of the courts should be used to expand the existing parking lot to the east all
the way to the street where the animal shelter is. This space should be
incorporated with the existing parking lot and the space between the existing lot
and this area and the courts courts should all be utilized for additional parking.
5.Now, consider that we will be going from 12 courts with 48 players to 24 courts
with 96 players. And, keep in mind that this will be the ONLY PUBLIC pickleball
facility in the Cochella Valley that will be constructed to the standards for
pickleball courts that includes fences between each courts and sufficient space
around the courts to actually play the game. All other courts are converted tennis
courts.
6.You will realize very quickly that the number of people using this new facility
will double and triple depending on the activity.
Because these will be the only courts in the valley that will not be converted
tennis courts, people will flock to Demuth Park to play on them. Kind of like that
famous movie line, “Build it and they will come!”
So, with 96 players on the courts during the busy season, we will have ~130+
players waiting to play. To think that these courts will not suffer this kind of
demand is just plain silly, and foolish.
7.And then there are tournaments that will undoubtedly be held here as well.
Tournaments typically have three (3) times the number of participants than the
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courts can accommodate. This means that there will be ~300 people needing to
have a place to congregate, sit and play during such events.
We know the courts themselves will accommodate such a crowd, but there is
currently no provision to provide an area for players to congregate and sit that will
accommodate ~100 to 200+ players.
The current plan has a space between the courts where players enter and exit the
courts that is much, much too small for so many people. And make no mistake,
the players need to be in the area where they enter and exit the courts or there will
be complete and total chaos trying to keep players moving on and off the courts in
a timely manner.
And, where will all these people be able to sit? More on this further on.
8.The area to the north of the courts that the current plan has earmarked for seating
and picnic space needs to be incorporated into the center area between the courts
to expand the width so this space can accommodate the number of players who
will be in this area.
Also, the current plan calls for 10 benches for seating in this area. Each bench will
accommodate 4 to 5 people meaning 50 people may have a place to sit. Simply
ridiculous considering that for tournaments there wil l be ~200 people waiting to
play.
This space needs one three tier bleacher facing each court for the entire length of
the area between the courts where players will enter and exit the courts and
congregate. Use the available funding for something practical like seating and
parking.
9.Also, the entire area between the two 12 court sections needs to have a cover for
sun screen. This structure should be incorporated into the fencing for the courts in
this area so that the entire area between the courts is covered. It is pointless to put
up separate, individual covers in this area.
Other failings of this document.
There is reference to a start date but, no completion date or time-frame for the
construction!
What kind of public project is issued to a vendor without a completion date or time-
frame? Many of us, over the past several weeks, have attempted to get the Parks and
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Recreation Department Director to provide a time line from from start to completion of
this project. We have been ignored/stonewalled.
The new director is the first director to not reply to emails that I have sent, ever. Viki,
Cynthia and Yvonne all were excellent at their job by communicating with the users of
park facilities. Sadly, the new director is failing miserably at doing this part of his job.
RECOMMENDATION:
The scope of this project has more than mushroomed, it has exploded like a nuclear
bomb, quadrupling from ~$1.5M to ~$6+M because the leader of the Oswit Land Trust
lobbied for trees and others insisted that we have a picnic area and seating on the north
side of the courts at the expense of inadequate space for the number of players that will
use the facility; think about the area where people enter and exit the courts and need a
place to sit and watch the games and rest as well as parking for players and spectators.
Palm Springs does need a world class pickleball facility. “Build it and they will come!”
PICKLEBALL FACILITY: A place to accommodate pickleball players and spectators.
This means that there needs to be accommodation for vesicles that are driven to/from the
facility. More space for parking should be taken going west from the facility between the
picnic area and child play area up to the softball field. The existing parking west of the
softball field is already inadequate when softball and soccer are in session and should
never have been considered as an alternative for pickleball player/spectator parking.
This means that there needs to be space to accommodate all of the players and spectators
to include adequate seating.
This is nothing more than common sense.
It is not too late to rein this project back and get these glaring issues fixed so Palm
Springs will have a pickleball facility that will draw people from all over the world to
play pickleball.
Respectfully,
Jim Seavey
1043 East Suntan Lane,
Palm Springs, CA 92264
02/13/2025
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jwseavey@norseaodyssey.com
541 261 3414
Full time Palm Springs resident for 15+ years.
02/13/2025
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From:Alan Bell
To:City Clerk
Subject:KIMLEY HORN CONTRACT
Date:Saturday, February 8, 2025 3:22:20 PM
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unless you are sure the content is safe.
Dear Council Members
Thousands of picklers use DeMuth during the season. There are 2 issues that the contract before
you addresses that would improve their experience but the project proposal does not specify the
particulars. Allow me to translate:
Issue 1 is that there are no dividers between the courts so the balls go onto the adjacent court.
Issue 2 is that the wait times for these thousands is too long between 8:30 and 10:30.
Issue 2 is the by far the greater problem as evidenced by the daily complaints about wait times and
the lack of complaints in regards the non existent dividers.
The Project addresses both complaints and everyone was invited to participate early on with the
result shown on the Project sketch. At the time of all this participation the cost was thought to be
$1,500,000 or $62,000 per court.
The time frame was 12 courts were to be built which we would then play on while the other 12 were
converted.
Kimley Horn worked with an AdHoc Committee supposedly representing the thousands of us. I see
on pg.11 of Attachment B that they met 7 times. During this time the Project morphed into
$6,000,000 or $250,000+ per court.
The problem is that during these meetings it appears that the time frame under which we all
worked has been altered such that not only will the courts be shut down for a period but it seems
likely that next season will also be shut down.
The AdHoc folks do not represent those that are effected by the primary problem which is Issue 2.
If long wait times is our problem then giving up all the courts for the 2025-2026 season is not a
solution.
Mary Barteleau is apparently on the Committee but the others are unknown to us. None of them
saw fit to advise those who play when it is crowded when this change came about. Mary has a
financial interest, is our Ambassador but has never played with us over the years, shares info or
addresses other issues such as rules, sand on the courts etc. No names are posted.
Why if thousands were invited to participate did no one seem it necessary to notify those impacted
of a significant change?
The "bad look" that I have described has been compounded by reading the Project timeline where
deadlines are appropriately scheduled but no completion date is mentioned.
So, could you explain on Thursday why there is no completion date in a construction contract, why
there was no transparency on the issue, how you justify calling this a Pickleball Project when the
cost is $250,000+ per court,where will we play next season, or why you did not convert the tennis
court for $35,000 and give us the 16 courts we have wanted for years?
Thanks
Alan Bell
02/13/2025
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02/13/2025
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