2023 6 20 City Council Agenda Packet

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Updating the tennis court lighting will also keep lighting throughout the complex uniform
while reducing energy consumption. Additionally, repair and maintenance should decline as
the current lights require regular replacement of bulbs and ballasts while the new LED lighting
would have a twenty-year warranty and therefore be mostly maintenance free for that

duration.

Parking is already insufficient for the amenities at the site and additional parking is needed
even without the addition of the Pickleball Courts. Routine parking on the grassy areas will
result in damage to the property and create drainage issues as vehicles alter the terrain.
Therefore, it seems appropriate to add additional parking to rectify this situation for both
current and future uses on the property.

Potential grant funding was discussed for the project, but there is only one realistic grant
program to fund a project such as this. The City currently has a grant from this program for
Heritage Park and cannot apply for another one until that one is complete. The process for
working through these grants is notoriously slow and waiting for grant funding would
realistically mean the City is at least six years from having a completed project. The additional
requirements of the grant program add roughly 15% to the cost of a project and then you
would need to add inflation on top of the cost of meeting the exhaustive grant guidelines. The
Board did not feel the savings which would be limited by these factors were worth waiting six
years to open the facility and that is the best case scenario based upon the City being awarded

a grant the first time we apply.

Furthermore, it is important to understand that the counties that surround McMinn already
have established a solid pickleball following. Bradley, Rhea, and Cumberland counties have
leagues currently running and host tournaments. As soon as last week, Sweetwater completely
renovated their tennis and pickleball facility. The City has the opportunity to not only retain
our current Pickleball athletes that are currently traveling out of county for tournaments, but
also flipping the situation to bring in those from out of county and possibly out of state to
come to McMinn County and specifically, the City of Athens. On every tournament welcome
packet, the pages will be filled with advertisements for hotels in the city and local restaurants
in downtown Athens. This has the opportunity to reap benefits beyond being a community
need and being a revenue stream, but also a promotion itself for our downtown Athens

businesses.

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