During the policy and planning portion of their meeting Tuesday night, the Pella City Council discussed a potential change to the Capital Improvement Plan project for renovations of the Kiwanis Park tennis and pickleball courts.

The courts were last renovated in October 2018 for $24,000, but the repairs lasted for less than two years before significant cracking reoccurred. The courts have been closed since the spring of 2023 due to unsafe playing surfaces. The current fiscal year budget included $60,000 for crack repair and resurfacing at the courts, but the project received just one bid for $89,500 during two bidding processes. City administration presented concerns that proceeding with the project may be a short-term fix and that the courts may need to be reconstructed to prevent future cracking from occurring, which is estimated to cost in excess of $500,000. The council  discussed removing the courts and replacing them with an open green space that could be utilized for small-scale youth or adult soccer, but residents in attendance opposed the idea of eliminating the pickleball courts. 

The city has offered instead to add lights to the current pickleball facility at Caldwell Park to increase access. No formal action on the project was taken at Tuesday’s meeting.