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RE_ a vote for boulder tennis courts 6_RedactedFrom:Rhodes, Alison To:Thornton, Jonathan Cc:Schuttenberg, Scott; Briggs, Tina Subject:RE: a vote for boulder tennis courts Date:Thursday, September 14, 2023 4:06:00 PM Attachments:image001.png image002.png image003.png Hi Jonathan, Edits in text below. I’d love you to take this response and any others that come in unless they’re uniquely challenging or political. Thank you! Ali From: Thornton, Jonathan <ThorntonJ@bouldercolorado.gov> Sent: Thursday, September 14, 2023 12:00 PM To: Rhodes, Alison <RhodesA@bouldercolorado.gov> Cc: Schuttenberg, Scott <schuttenbergs@bouldercolorado.gov>; Briggs, Tina <BriggsT@bouldercolorado.gov> Subject: RE: a vote for boulder tennis courts Here’s a draft email to send: >> My name is Ali Rhodes and I’m the Director of Boulder Parks and Recreation (when we get a draft response, I’d love for you to take these if/as they come in unless there’s something unique or especially political about it). Thank you for writing to us about your passion for racket sport courts in the city. Members of the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board (PRAB) and City Council have received your message and you might hear from one of them individually. We understand the concerns and questions you have related to racket sport courts in the city. Participation in both tennis and pickleball has increased in recent years and as a result, we have work underway to identify solutions to the demand for courts. We are working on a Court System Plan that will outline our system-wide plan for racket sports. By the end of this year, we should have two items ready: 1. A management plan for our existing inventory of courts that will include use distribution (which are shared and/or dedicated for tennis/pickleball) and how we use distribution amongst reservations, drop-in use, lessons, and more as we try and balance all of the competing demands. The management plan will also prioritize investments in existing courts and inform how we spend $2M over the next five years to ensure they are all in good reservations, drop-in use, lessons, and more to try and balance all of the competing demands. It will also inform how we prioritize investment in the current courts. Prior to 2023, we budgeted $65k/year for court maintenance. This year we will spend $200k. The budget that City Council will consider this week for 2024 has us spending $400k/year for the next five years so that the courts we have are in better shape. 2) Locations where additional funding would allow for construction of new courts. We do not have money in our current budget for new courts and the 2022 Parks and Recreation Plan directs us to prioritize dollars on taking care of what we have, however, we know there are opportunities for other funding, such as grants and philanthropy, and want to be ready if/when funds are identified for additional courts. The third and final deliverable will be ready in 2024 and will inform if/how BPR partners on a potential court facility. The note can finish with a link to sign-up to receive email updates from us and to be notified of opportunities to provide input. Thank you! Ali Rhodes Director she/her O: 303-413-7249 rhodesa@bouldercolorado.gov Parks and Recreation 3198 N. Broadway | Boulder, CO 80304 bouldercolorado.gov-- From: PRAB Admin <PRABAdmin@bouldercolorado.gov> Sent: Tuesday, September 12, 2023 9:15 AM To: PRAB <PRAB@bouldercolorado.gov> Subject: a vote for boulder tennis courts Dear Members of the PRAB, I am forwarding an email that came to our Parks & Rec email box. Thank you for all you do. Rosa Kougl Executive Assistant O: 303-413-7223 KouglR@bouldercolorado.gov Boulder Parks & Recreation 3198 Broadway | Boulder, CO 80304 www.boulderparks-rec.org My typical schedule is M-F 7:30am – 4:30pm and emails will be responded to during those hours. External Sender From: Sent: Monday, September 11, 2023 10:05 PM To: parks-rec <parks-rec@bouldercolorado.gov> Subject: a vote for boulder tennis courts Attention Parks and Rec Advisory Council, (Please don’t delete,, Please send to Advisory Council, if this is not the correct email,, thx!) Thanks for your work! I just wanted to add a voice (per recent Boulder Daily Camera Opinion Piece, on the state of city tennis courts). I am an avid tennis player, and I have traveled extensively through the U.S. for work... I am continually surprised by cities the size of Boulder (or smaller!), and generally less wealthy, by how much money and energy and time they have put into tennis courts! In many cases, including actual public tennis centers (covered courts, groups, lessons, etc.). OK, got it, Pickle Ball is all the rage!--- and it may continue to rage, or it may not. But tennis has been hugely popular for decades and decades, and it is renown as an exceptionally beneficial athletic and mental pastime...for participants, aged 8 to 80 (if not some on either end!). Go ahead--> invest in pickle ball courts, but please, don't usurp our tennis courts for Pickle usage, please, please, continue to build and maintain tennis in Boulder, Colorado. Thanks