Ball is in Kincardine council's court regarding repairs to tennis courts
By: Liz Dadson
December 19, 2014
Ken Bauman left Kincardine council with a great parting salvo, with respect to repairs needed to the Kincardine tennis courts, located along the Lake Huron shoreline at the bottom of Harbour Street.
"The ball is in your court," he said, Wednesday night (Dec. 17), at the final council meeting of the year.
Bauman's presentation was one of about a dozen, regarding programs and projects, as information for new councillors and a good refresher for those who had served on the previous four-year term or a prior term of council.
In his presentation, Bauman said the Kincardine Tennis Club has operated since the 1960s, but the modern-era club was formed in 1989.
"The three public tennis courts are situated on prime MacGregor Park land on Harbour Street, within a great view of our beautiful beaches, and while the courts are in regular use by our 70-plus club members and other local reisdents, they are also well-used by visitors during the tourist season," he said. "I have watched with much dismay as the courts' infrastructure has continually been degraded by age, weather and some destructive non-tennis use (skateboards and in-line skates)."
However, he said, nobody has taken the initiative over the past 12 years to stop that degradation. He noted that the courts are more than 50 years old and were resurfaced in 1998 and 2003, but there has been no concerted effort to stop the deteriorating effects of sand, soil, weeds and grass. In particular, he said, grass is a major enermy of asphalt and should not be anywhere near a tennis court.
He said those elements and the winter frosts have combined to lift and break up the edges of the aging asphalt surface and, consequently, lift the fence base around the entire circumference of the three courts, creating a danger to all players.
"Hooked iron rods were then driven in to hold down the fence," said Bauman. "These, of course, dangerously popped back up with the frost. Then two-by-fours were stapled to the fence base which proved equally ineffective and ugly."
Since the early 2000s, Bauman has been sending letters and verbally indicating that the tennis courts need major attention.
When he became treasurer of the tennis club last March, Bauman found, to his amazement, there is in excess of $25,000 in the club's bank account with no plans to effectively use it. Due to a number of subsequent resignations from the club's executive committee, he has now assumed the administrative duties and in July this year, sent a letter to the Kincardine public works and recreations departments with a proposal to refurbish the tennis courts.
The estimated cost would be $100,000, based on the experience of the maintenance director at the Southampton Tennis Club.
"I am suggesting that if the municipality, which owns our three tennis courts, would cover the costs to remove the old fencing, remediate the compete circumference of the courts with new asphalt, undertake other necessary on-court repairs (including a sink-hole around one of the light standards), resurface and repaint all three courts and make some major improvements to the access road and parking area, only then would the club use its funds to replace all of the 40- to 50-year-old fencing, add more fencing at the practice wall, and obtain much-needed court-side furniture and fixtures along with other related repair items," said Bauman.
"This is a long-term investment, and these repairs are needed for the safety of all who use the tennis courts."
Mayor Anne Eadie said this project was not in the original capital budget presentation Dec. 8, but is listed in the "other capital projects" attachment.
Eadie thanked Bauman for his presentation.
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