2026-10-22 - Committee on Recreation

00:20Good afternoon everybody.

00:22Councilman Jim McBride here, chair of

00:24the recreation committee and it is

00:26October 22nd, 2:00 p.m.

00:30We have

00:32Councilman Shealy

00:34Nope. Councilman Shealy, Councilman

00:36D'Alessandro,

00:38the mayor, Mayor Cogswell and myself.

00:41And not on the committee but with us

00:44Councilman Tinkler.

00:45Is there anyone online that I'm not

00:46seeing?

00:48I know Councilwoman Scranton couldn't be

00:49here today. I think we're good.

00:52Okay,

00:53start off with an invocation. Please bow

00:54your heads for a moment.

01:03Amen. Thank you.

01:05First item is the minutes. Can I have a

01:07motion?

01:12Any discussion?

01:13Um

01:15If all in favor say aye.

01:18Okay, that was from September 17th

01:19minutes.

01:21And now I'll open it up to public

01:22participation.

01:23How many people do we have?

01:25Do we know?

01:26>> Um we do have two people signed up to

01:29speak online. Can you go get the

01:32downstairs? We're waiting on some of the

01:34written

01:36sign-ups.

01:36>> Okay.

01:37>> But we can start with some of the folks

01:38who signed up online. Helen Devel

01:43>> Okay.

01:45Yeah, you guys want to go ahead?

01:48So total about total you know how many

01:50we have total?

01:51>> We have two online and for whatever

01:53reason they didn't get me the sign-up

01:55sheets so we're waiting on those.

01:57>> Okay.

01:58>> on.

01:59>> Start.

02:00>> We'll give you guys a full 2 minutes, if

02:01that's okay. Oh, I'm sorry.

02:03>> There was no further sign up, so just

02:04just these folks.

02:05>> Okay.

02:09>> Oh, I I can go.

02:14>> Well, I I did sign up. I signed up in

02:16time.

02:17>> Okay, I'll figure that out. Thank you.

02:20>> There we go.

02:21>> All right, we'll go with 2 minutes per

02:23speaker.

02:24>> Good afternoon. My name is Lauren

02:25Sherman, and I reside on Brisbane Drive,

02:29adjacent to Parkshore Park, um with my

02:31husband and three children. And um I'm

02:35here today uh regarding the proposed

02:37dedicated pickleball courts um in the

02:40park behind our home, and I want to

02:41start by thanking the city for pausing

02:45and for listening to us and for hearing

02:47our concerns, and we're very pleased

02:49with the revised plans, and um it it

02:53means a lot to feel heard on uh the

02:56concerns, so thank you for that.

02:58Um

03:00however, our concern still exists,

03:01whether there's 12 courts, four courts,

03:03or two courts, we still have a concern

03:05about being able to hear the noise from

03:07the pickleball courts from our home.

03:10Um

03:10the courts are proposed to be installed

03:14at a location where there are existing

03:16basketball courts. We can hear the noise

03:19from the basketball courts from our

03:20homes, which we enjoy, um but that gives

03:24us cause to believe that we will also

03:26hear noise from pickleball courts. Um

03:28and to be clear, this is not a blanket

03:30objection to noise from the park. We

03:31know we live on the park, and we enjoy

03:33hearing our neighbors and our kids. It's

03:35just a specific concern about the noise

03:37from pickleball, which I think has been

03:39widely um

03:41learned or understood to be um

03:45the subject of um potential nuisance,

03:47and there's a lot of ongoing litigation,

03:49and so we have a concern about how

03:52that's going to affect the livability of

03:54the residences

03:56and just the overall

03:58um

03:58environment for the park.

04:00Um so um

04:03the other concern that I would note is

04:06that um

04:07we've been pointed to the survey that

04:10was conducted um 5 or 6 years ago

04:13um as support for installation of the

04:16pickleball courts. But we've reviewed it

04:18and it shows pickleball as a

04:20low-priority

04:21um investment while walking trails and

04:24natural spaces and quiet neighborhood

04:27parks was identified as a high priority.

04:30And we feel like our port our park um

04:32Parkshore Park really excels in a lot of

04:35those areas that are identified as a

04:37high priority and with investment I

04:39think could enhance it even further. Um

04:43so we would like to just see um oh

04:47also related to the survey that was

04:49conducted long before any of the

04:51proposed um changes that have come

04:53within walking distance of the park like

04:55the Ashley Landing, the new city

04:57offices, the um county park, or even

05:01like the Northbridge fishing pier. All

05:02of that is walkable from Parkshore Park.

05:05And so we just think it could be

05:06considered in a larger context. We think

05:09it could be part of a larger

05:11connectivity with um other areas of the

05:14city and um with the right attention and

05:17with the neighborhood input could be

05:18something that is really special that

05:20enhances the natural and existing

05:23character. Um but if the city decides to

05:25go forward with the pickleball courts,

05:27we are requesting a site-specific sound

05:29study um conducted during the wintertime

05:32when there's no vegetation on the trees.

05:34Um we would want to review the results

05:36of the study and we would want the

05:37results to inform any mitigation such as

05:41buffers, fencing,

05:44vegetation,

05:45um and also requesting um limited play

05:48hours for the courts. So, we appreciate

05:51it. We really want the park to be a

05:53special place for the community and for

05:55the neighborhood, um, but we don't want,

05:58um, that to be at the cost of the

06:00residents who are living nearby.

06:03Thank you.

06:04>> Thank you.

06:07Okay, good.

06:07>> We have Helen Devel as a sign up.

06:15>> Good afternoon. My name is Helen Devel.

06:17I am also a resident of Brisbane Drive.

06:21My home backs up to the trail portion of

06:24Parkshore Park, um, and I live with my

06:27husband and my two sons there.

06:30Um, really, my comments echo a lot of

06:33Ms. Human's concerns. First of all,

06:35thank you so much for pumping the brakes

06:37on the proposed four-court plan. Um,

06:41one of my concerns is that, you know,

06:44back in 2024, the 12-court plan

06:47was stopped, and we definitely

06:50appreciate that, but our understanding

06:52was that nothing was really happening

06:54with

06:54the pickleball plans at that time.

06:57And until Mr. Tinkler brought it to

06:59everyone's attention in the middle of

07:01September, we really didn't think that

07:04anything was going forward with

07:05pickleball courts. It really took us all

07:07by surprise. So, we really appreciate

07:10the opportunity to be heard. Um, at the

07:13end of September, I was out of town. I

07:15was not able to be at the meeting with

07:17the representatives of the city and with

07:20Mr. Tinkler, but I really appreciate the

07:22opportunity for the neighbors to be

07:24heard and for the revised plan. There's

07:27so many things about this plan that are

07:29are great compromise, like not putting

07:31in the conduit, from reducing the court

07:33size, improving, um, the pad for one of

07:37the basketball courts. Um, I think

07:40that's all great, but my main concern

07:42too is about the the noise, which during

07:45the winter time you can definitely hear

07:47things

07:48um

07:49more from the park, and I don't mind the

07:51park sounds. That it's great. It's it's

07:54part of our community, but I think that

07:56it would be bothersome to hear the

07:58sounds of pickleball courts um from our

08:01backyard um more clearly loudly and

08:03clearly in the winter time and even like

08:05throughout the course of the year. So, I

08:08would

08:09request the city perform the

08:11site-specific sound study prior to doing

08:14any construction so that we are in so

08:17that we could know what sort of um

08:19mitigation would be best suited. I know

08:22that the city has a noise ordinance

08:25um you know, outlying any or

08:27prohibiting, I should say, any

08:29repetitive, unnecessary noises um you

08:33know, 500 ft from residential property

08:36lines um or 70 dB. So, I understand that

08:41that's in place, and I think there's

08:42residents we want to understand when the

08:45sound study is going to be conducted and

08:47what the results of the sound sound

08:48study would be. Um and hopefully this

08:51would all be prior to construction. We'd

08:53also love to be informed of any um

08:55proposed timelines. When do you expect

08:57construction to begin? When would a

08:59sound study occur? Because we definitely

09:02don't want to be in the dark. We want to

09:04be partners with the city, and

09:06>> That's time.

09:07>> Thank you very much.

09:12>> We had no one else sign up online, but

09:14it looked like there were a couple of

09:15people who came to sign up in person.

09:18>> I actually signed up online, but I don't

09:20know that I did it in time. I didn't

09:21realize. And I'll be very brief if

09:24allowed to speak.

09:25>> You have you have two two minutes. Go

09:26ahead. Thank you.

09:28>> Thank you, Mr. Mayor, council members,

09:30um committee members. I live in

09:32Parkshore 3, and I understand the

09:34concern by the residents who live

09:36adjacent abutting to the park.

09:39The problem is is that the people that

09:40live in Parkshore 2 do not have to live

09:43and deal with

09:44mini bottles,

09:46beer cans, used condoms, drug deals, and

09:49paraphernalia that regularly occur in

09:51that park. That occurs at the front of

09:53our neighborhood, okay? It's been that

09:55way ever since I moved in. I knew we had

09:56a park in Parkshore 3 when I moved in.

10:00I know that at least two or three of the

10:01households adjacent to Parkshore Park

10:05are owned by attorneys. They knew very

10:07well what they were buying.

10:09Um furthermore, I have a house at Fripp

10:12Island. We are, I promise you, almost

10:14the exact same distance from the

10:16pickleball courts, 12 of them.

10:19Yes, you can hear pickleball.

10:21Is it annoying? No, it's almost

10:23inconsequential. My master bedroom is

10:26the closest room in our house to the

10:29pickleball courts.

10:30You cannot hear the pickleball inside of

10:32our house.

10:33I think it's much ado about

10:35I do also think that Parkshore 3, the

10:38park at Parkshore 3, really does need

10:40attention. I think having pickleball

10:42courts there is going to bring a very

10:46good class of patronage to the park.

10:49Um my wife would have been here. I do

10:51not play pickleball, she does. I know

10:53that she's talked to Mr. Wink Tickler

10:56about this and has been kept in the loop

10:58just like the residents abutting to the

11:01park. And I understand their concerns. I

11:03just think that it's a little bit

11:05overblown.

11:06Um they do have a lot of vegetation in

11:09between the the two parks.

11:11Two pickleball courts, I would advocate

11:13for more, but two pickleball courts

11:16eight people can play on two pickleball

11:18courts.

11:19The obtrusiveness is going to be

11:21negligible to anybody. Park is very

11:24underutilized. There is rarely a

11:26baseball game out there.

11:28A few people play tennis out there.

11:30Every once in a while there is a a

11:33>> time

11:34>> time

11:36>> Did I hear time?

11:37>> Yes, sir.

11:38>> Okay. All right, I'll leave it at that.

11:39Thank you, everyone. I appreciate the

11:40chance to talk.

11:43>> We did receive uh some comments online.

11:45Five comments were received regarding

11:46the Parkshore Park pickleball courts

11:48thanking the city for listening to

11:50residents and making changes, but asked

11:52for further details and for a completion

11:55of the sound study, other mitigation,

11:57preservation, and improvement efforts,

11:59and further community input before

12:01construction. Two comments were received

12:03in support of the current plans for the

12:05Parkshore Park pickleball courts, and

12:07two comments were received asking the

12:09city to differentiate between casual,

12:11unplanned play, and organized group play

12:14when requiring field permits. And that's

12:16just a summary, all comments were sent

12:18to the committee in full.

12:21>> Awesome. Thanks for that.

12:23And uh it's a little bit out of order

12:24based on the comments, but where the

12:25first item uh is item 4A.

12:29Um

12:30discussion uh related to the regional

12:32and local rugby and lacrosse, and not

12:35just restricted to that, but the the

12:37practical

12:38um advance and balancing the city

12:40recreation.

12:42Do you have a presentation or is

12:43discussion about that?

12:48>> Okay, so we uh we give you all um

12:51a a handout, and this basically

12:53addresses the email that Councilmember

12:56McBride sent with nine um

12:59nine components after our last

13:01recreation committee meeting. So, I'm

13:03not going to read it word for word for

13:05you. Um first one was competing

13:07interest. I believe there are 52

13:10entities, if I counted correctly,

13:12um on this list of who is currently

13:15using our facilities.

13:18Um so, you can see that there are

13:20several of these. In fact, one of them

13:22this morning I had the same kind of

13:24conversation that we are not looking at

13:26getting into a specific MOU with anyone.

13:29So,

13:30if we allow one, then I think we're

13:33having to look at allowing all of these

13:35and I I don't think that's what we're

13:37we're recommending on our side. Um

13:40>> And is that just for that one field?

13:43>> No, this is for all fields. Got you. So,

13:45for Chisholm

13:47there's another sheet that what we can

13:48get to that'll show you just for

13:49Chisholm use.

13:50Um along with these these permitted

13:54groups, we also have several

13:57several groups that are using large

14:00groups that are using our fields

14:02without permits and doing some damage to

14:06the field when they're out there.

14:08We do run into situations where

14:11some are very pleasant, some are not

14:13very pleasant. We have this problem on

14:15all of our groups. Um

14:18So, like this this past weekend we had a

14:21group of about 80 to 100 on Saturday and

14:24then we had another group um on Sunday

14:27on same fields for about 120 people and

14:30then Sunday morning we had a group

14:32before we played our adult sports. So,

14:34we we do have large groups that are

14:35using the fields without permits and

14:38just showing up.

14:39Um again, most of them are pleasant.

14:42Most of

14:44we do run into groups that when staff

14:46ask them to move or to get a permit, we

14:48do get a lot of pushback. Um as far as

14:51number two, the MOU,

14:53I think Mr. Maloney went back and talked

14:56about the Casabo MOU. We we've discussed

14:58this that we did have that MOU. It was a

15:02good relationship, but we did not get

15:04everything

15:06out of that MOU from that side and we

15:09kind of feel like we run into that same

15:10use as everybody's super happy for the

15:13first year, does everything they need to

15:15do and then after that things fall away

15:18from what they commit to do for for us

15:20in exchange for their sole use of

15:23playing. Um lighting issue, it sounds

15:25like that may have been resolved because

15:27Mr.

15:28Uh Maloney said he did not want night

15:30play. Um capital projects response on

15:33that is funding has been identified for

15:35Stanley Chisholm to install and we would

15:37obviously look at that moving forward on

15:40whatever that cost is. Um Mr. Maloney on

15:44number four for your question, sir, is

15:45uh Mr. Maloney asked for 15 dates per

15:47season. He was asking for us to go ahead

15:50and basically give him all those dates

15:52forward in 2027.

15:54Um our resistance to that is we just

15:57changed that ordinance to go on the

15:58seasonal schedule so we can make sure

16:00that we can control everything that's

16:02happening. Um so that would be breaking

16:05what ordinance with it was just passed

16:07there in August. Um so

16:10working outside of that um is what gives

16:13us pause is to be able to give somebody

16:16advanced permission to use a field when

16:20not everybody gets that advanced

16:21permission. Um and also just that to

16:25reiterate, Mr. Maloney was never has

16:28never been denied a permit except when

16:30we had the winter storm last in 2025,

16:33which I think was February January

16:35February. So he has been able to get

16:37everything that he has asked for.

16:39Um legal feasibility, I'm going to drop

16:42on the green belt for you. If you can

16:44just um just

16:45respond back to that one. That's under

16:47the green belt feedback. So

16:50>> Right one. Here we go.

16:52I I I should look before I press,

16:54shouldn't I?

16:55Uh so we did reach out to the green belt

16:58parties. They've indicated that they do

16:59not oppose

17:01uh this usage. However, they do

17:03recommend that it not just be single use

17:05and it's open up to the public for

17:07public play. Um they have not had this

17:10presented to them in the past. So this

17:12would be a new uh situation for them and

17:15we may have a couple of tweaks we need

17:16to work with them, but overall no legal

17:19issues that we see.

17:22>> Uh number six was just um general

17:24programming trade-off. There's another

17:26sheet that we will kind of respond to,

17:28but same situation. We have multiple

17:30teams, multiple uses of this field. Um

17:33so giving it that sole use um does

17:35become does become the issue. Um rugby

17:39is very hard on fields

17:41um and this this particular field does

17:44not have the greatest turf to begin

17:46with.

17:47Um so if we have multiple days in a week

17:51of rugby, then we might be playing on

17:53dirt. So then the cost factor to us to

17:56get down considerable amounts of turf

17:58and that kind of thing. So um that kind

18:01of rolls into number seven of field

18:02condition.

18:03Um

18:04again, physical demands with the scrums

18:06and repeated collisions becomes a

18:08contributing factor. Um

18:11So we both of us together basically

18:13claim current field conditions due to

18:15rugby use is not we we have not blamed

18:17that on rugby use. Lacrosse is a high

18:20impact um sport as well, but any kind of

18:23large use like that is going to increase

18:25our ground maintenance costs. It's going

18:26to increase our trash costs. It's going

18:28to increase our fertilization costs, our

18:30water costs, and and those kind of

18:32things. So site constraints um

18:35as we discussed, there's no sewage and

18:37water out there right now. We have

18:39port-o-lets. We pay for port-o-lets, so

18:41there's always port-o-let that is not a

18:42cost that is put to anybody that permits

18:45those um

18:47parking. Maybe we can get 50 cars if

18:49everybody parks the way they should

18:51park.

18:52Um so doing some kind of a tournament

18:54out there where it's more than that,

18:55then we're getting ready to start

18:57parking on the streets. That is a more

19:00effective now because Dolphin Cove has

19:03reemerged as a open marina now. So

19:06they've just repaved that. They're

19:07actually functioning as a true marina.

19:10Um whereas over the last couple years it

19:12wasn't, so parking could be on the

19:13street and really didn't affect too

19:14much.

19:16Uh, revenue, uh, we did some cost that

19:18what he put in he put in for running

19:21tournaments. Um, obviously, you know, he

19:23runs less tournaments less days than

19:25that those costs become uh, become less

19:27depending on what he what he does. Think

19:29his average use is about $300

19:33for a rugby day is $100 for one

19:35multi-purpose field. Um, we absorb some

19:39of that with our staffing, opening

19:40gates, the maintenance cost. Um, they do

19:43put their own lines down so that we are

19:46not having to put that cost down

19:48um, for us, but just the infrastructure

19:51gaps, the liabilities, and the need for

19:53insurance and those kind of things does

19:55become an issue for cost. Uh, this is

19:58something we did not have last last

20:01meeting. Um, there's some maintenance

20:03cost that was put in here that our parks

20:05department worked on.

20:07Um, so again, not reading everything,

20:10but looking at a one multi-purpose field

20:13at Stanley Chisholm, uh, taken to

20:15consideration that we would consider

20:16Stanley Chisholm as four fields, uh, the

20:19way it's laid out. So, just one field

20:22would be an $1,850 per field per month

20:25to just do normal grass cutting,

20:27trimming, trash collection, removal,

20:30weed control, and treatment. Um, an

20:32estimated maintenance on a 2026 for a

20:35single multi-purpose field such as

20:37Bayview then becomes at the yearly is

20:40between 29 is between 30,000 and 51,000.

20:44So, this includes mowing costs, labor

20:46costs. That's per I'm sorry, per month.

20:49I'm sorry. Estimates are approximately

20:50per month. So, thank you, Beth. Um, so

20:52this obviously includes mowing, soil

20:55treatments, fertilization, herbicides,

20:57fungicides, insect control, irrigation,

21:00system maintenance, aeration, um,

21:02standard repairs, stop dress, and stop

21:04the top dressing. So, all of those kind

21:07of rolled in, so

21:09um the the cost to maintain fields is

21:11extraordinary. So, and baseball field is

21:14we're talking 1,500 per month for a

21:16baseball field, 1,850 per a

21:19multi-purpose field. So, multi-purpose

21:21field would be a soccer field, baseball

21:23field we know what that is. Um so,

21:25general period central repairs and I

21:28I'll add that in toward the end. Um if

21:31y'all want to take a quick look at it,

21:33West Shawnee Park the document it looks

21:35like this. There's some pictures in

21:36there. So, this was taken after we had a

21:40road use on the Sunday after I ate I

21:43I

21:44I that storm we just had, I say us I say

21:48us. Um so, sorry. I have not been able

21:51to work that. Um so, obviously you can

21:54see from the first picture that we're

21:55going to need to resod that because we

21:57had that much damage to the fields. Um

21:59so, this is the kind of thing that that

22:01creates when we have road use. We had

22:03field closure signs out. The field

22:05closure signs were bent and thrown in

22:07the garbage um by the people that used

22:10the field that day. So, those kind of

22:12things um this repair cost about $1,100

22:16with staffing hours and the roller and

22:19and those kind of things. Plus, it's

22:20going to be the additional to the sod.

22:22Um so, uh staff currently averages $2 to

22:25$3 per square foot for repairs. Um so,

22:29that kind of just ties those two

22:31together.

22:33Um so, again just kind of bringing that

22:35back that um we would like to maintain

22:38our current ordinance.

22:39Um we would like to not be in those MOUs

22:43unless we have to. I know we were in a

22:44big MOU with with um with CCSD for some

22:48fields. Um we just don't feel with

22:50staffing, with park maintenance, with

22:52the cost of what it is to maintain

22:54fields that it's beneficial for us to

22:57get into any of those single MOUs.

23:01And then if you look at the last sheet,

23:05um that gives you a year-to-date permit

23:08approvals. So, on the left-hand side is

23:11everything that we issue out as far as

23:13how many permits and how many hours

23:15used. On the right-hand side is what we

23:18hold for our internal usage. So, that's

23:21what we're using for our youth, our

23:23adults, any of our special events, those

23:25kind of things. Um sorry, that printed a

23:27little a little wonky. Um but the

23:30external use is 2,600 hours. And I'm

23:34sorry, 2,600 permits. And so, and let me

23:38preface that by saying one permit could

23:40be 10 to 15 dates. You know, somebody

23:44wants a baseball field for for a couple

23:46months. So, that's not 26 individual

23:48people. 26 permits and then our internal

23:50holders are 6,500 permits.

23:53So, and you can see the hours on there.

23:55So.

23:56>> Mike, that was excellent. It was very

23:57thorough. And uh we'll we'll provide Mr.

24:00Maloney if he doesn't already have this

24:01of the notes that you just read off.

24:03And one thing that you didn't mention,

24:04but you kind of educated me on, just

24:06kind of changed my my my mindset on

24:08this, and I'll open up to comments here

24:09in a second, is just that

24:11you know, I I personally think it'd be

24:13awesome to have a rugby tournament in

24:16Charleston. But that's not what city

24:19fields and recreation facilities are

24:20for. They're for the residents in the

24:22city.

24:24Um so, that there's definitely pros and

24:25cons. And we don't we just don't have

24:27enough recreation facilities to go

24:28around for the population we have. So,

24:31you laid out very clearly that very,

24:32very high demand for all our fields,

24:34including Stanley Chisholm.

24:36And if

24:37you know, there's pros and cons. If we

24:38were to again, and you made a point out

24:40the ordinance that we passed

24:42we'd have to change that, which we're

24:44we're not going to do anytime soon, but

24:46um

24:47there's there's pros and cons to, you

24:49know, allowing exclusive use

24:51has a negative impact on other

24:53organizations. So, I have a broader

24:56understanding of this now, and I

24:57appreciate all the work you guys have

24:58done on this. I know it's taken a lot of

25:00a lot of hours to put this together and

25:02I'll open it up to comments.

25:08>> Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Um

25:10Ms. Cooper, I think it's so if if it's

25:13three more than three people

25:16come

25:17and use a field then they they are

25:24>> So

25:25um so I'm calling all my friends.

25:28>> Mhm.

25:28>> This is how I interpret the ordinance.

25:30Well, I'm putting out something on

25:31social media is, "Hey, let's show up at

25:33West Ashley Park at 6:00 on Saturday

25:36night to play soccer and 100 people show

25:39up." To me, that's organized. Um if

25:42you're walking across the street with

25:44your kids and your grandkids and you're

25:46getting on a field to play a little

25:47kickball or getting in the park and all

25:48that, I don't necessarily I don't

25:50necessarily consider that organized

25:52play. Um the some use on it some of

25:56these is we literally everybody's in

25:58uniform and there's officials on the

26:00field. That is not part of us.

26:03Um the situation on Saturday,

26:06um they were on three fields.

26:08Um they were all "Hey, everybody wear

26:10blue. Hey, everybody wear white." I had

26:12a shirts and skins game going on and

26:15then we had some others. So, um there's

26:17spectators. Everybody's sitting on on

26:20lawn chairs, sitting on our benches,

26:22watching, hanging out. Now, they're all

26:24pleasant. They all came off that with

26:25that Saturday was a church group out of

26:27North Charleston. Um which we've had

26:30that conversation with that church group

26:31as well. Um Sunday, I believe was a

26:34different group. Again, three fields.

26:37Not quite as many as what Saturday night

26:38was, but again, um in you know, some of

26:41them in shirt colors. So, um wearing

26:43red, um somebody else is wearing orange

26:45or what whatever and there was three

26:47fields going on as well. Now, group is a

26:49little bit more vocal with our staff and

26:51you can see those two public comments

26:52came in for us from that group. Um

26:56Unfortunately, in those situations,

26:59I can only send a few staff people out

27:02cuz majority of the time it's men.

27:05Um and I can only send a few staff out

27:08that feel comfortable in walking into

27:10150 men, 120 men on a soccer field to

27:14tell them they can't play.

27:15Um so, we've only got a few people that

27:17can go. We do try to get police out

27:19there just to support us.

27:21Um there are groups We've got a group on

27:23James Island that shows up that anytime

27:25staff approaches them, it immediately

27:27becomes a a war and an argument. Um and

27:31there's not space at Bayview. They're

27:33getting in between a 7-8 year old girl

27:35soccer field and a 9-10 flag football

27:37field. And unfortunately, in those

27:39situations, there's a lot of cussing

27:41that happens with the with the larger

27:43group. There's a lot of

27:45Men don't like to use bathrooms. They

27:47like to go to the woods.

27:48So, we have a lot of that happen as

27:50well. Um

27:51you know, so, it's us going out and we

27:54we've got now we've take our ordinance.

27:55We got a nice little flyer. There's a QR

27:57code that explains exactly what the

27:59ordinance is. You know, if it were 10 or

28:0112 guys, we're probably going to drive

28:03right past and not say a thing. But if

28:04there's three fields and 100 120 people

28:06and there's spectators and there might

28:08be an official on the field, then that

28:10to me looks organized. That's my

28:12interpretation of what the ordinance is.

28:14>> Got you. Well, thank you. I appreciate

28:16all your work and everything Yeah.

28:18everything you're doing. I I it makes me

28:19sick when I go out there and see mud

28:21puddles in the middle of those beautiful

28:22soccer fields that have that are so

28:25gorgeous. Um our our field people back

28:27there do a great job and

28:29um

28:30they um

28:31you know,

28:32the the concern that I guess you know,

28:35you got three neighborhoods around

28:36there. You got Providence Commons,

28:38Forest Lakes, you got Battery Gilliard

28:40over there. You got a lot of kids that

28:43that live in those neighborhoods and mom

28:44and dad would love to see them

28:46be out on the park rather than sitting

28:48in front of a video game and I just want

28:50to make sure that we're careful with

28:52with that.

28:53>> We are. We are.

28:55Um, yeah, and and again, if if if mom

28:57and dad are going out or there's seven

28:59kids playing soccer, we're not going to

29:00stop seven kids playing soccer.

29:03Um, but we are going to stop something

29:04that looks like and I know that it's

29:06online. There's several

29:08um

29:09Um,

29:09the word just left my brain. There's

29:11several um apps that people go on and

29:13just hey, we're meeting up Governors.

29:15You know, I have a We have 100 people

29:17that go out every Tuesday and Thursday

29:18to Governors Park. And they don't care

29:20where they go.

29:21And they don't care who they talk to. I

29:23mean, we had to put one on on

29:25um

29:26trespass notice because he went up to a

29:2817-year-old kid that works for us that

29:30was asking them to stop and he pushed

29:31them.

29:32So, those are the That's the kind of

29:34that we're running into.

29:35>> Yeah.

29:35>> Um, you know, and they and you know,

29:38it's I

29:40It It's just sometimes it's not very

29:41becoming when I've got kids around and

29:43I've got adults doing the things that

29:45adults do.

29:46You know, we've got people that go out

29:48and use our fields for personal

29:49training. Um, you know, they're bringing

29:52out people. You can

29:53They come out, they set up you know,

29:55training poles and nets and that kind of

29:58thing and we know that they're offering

29:59private lessons cuz they have their

30:00private their private company on their

30:02shirt.

30:03>> Yeah.

30:03>> Um, so you know, we asked them to to

30:05leave as well because they need to have

30:07a permit and they they cannot make money

30:08on our fields. So, we run into several

30:11issues.

30:12Um, you know, so we we are conscious of

30:15it is a park and we want people to use

30:17our parks, but I think 100 people coming

30:19out to play soccer is something that

30:21should be permitted. That's That is my

30:23opinion. Um

30:25somebody else may have a different one

30:27and I'm happy to do what I'm told to do,

30:29honestly.

30:30Um

30:31but that that's that's what we run into.

30:33>> Well, thank you.

30:34>> And you know, and looking at our

30:35pictures, they don't care if they damage

30:36our right. And that's what's frustrating

30:38is in 2 weeks we got All Stars and it's

30:42going to look like, you know, it doesn't

30:43look like that now. Guys came out,

30:45rolled it the next day, you know, those

30:47kind of things, but it just it just

30:48doesn't allow us to finish our season.

30:51Um, back in early September we had some

30:54rain and that thing had that same thing

30:56happened. We couldn't play for 3 days.

30:58Um, you know, you know how West Sunset

31:00Park is, it's old water. Yeah. You know,

31:02so.

31:03>> Well, thank you very much.

31:04>> Absolutely.

31:05>> You know, the the one other thing that

31:07um, that I mention from time to time in

31:09these committee meetings and others is

31:11if we have the opportunity to put down

31:12artificial turf, it would be, you know,

31:14more more durable. Um, and I

31:18when I first came on council, I wasn't

31:19for artificial turf, but I've seen what

31:21it's done for other municipalities and

31:23other places. So, um, if we have that

31:25opportunity, I think I think it's worth

31:27looking at.

31:29Thank you.

31:31>> Okay, Mr. Mayor, tell us something.

31:33>> So, what

32:28>> But you just you go on to the city site

32:30and see the website and

32:32click on

32:33>> Yeah, you just go in there and and apply

32:34for a permit. You got to have a

32:35household

32:36to apply for a permit. And then you go

32:38in and go to the counter pops up before

32:40you get what you want. Then you go in

32:42you click on whatever days and then you

32:44push through by the permit date. Yeah,

32:46so when it comes through to us it goes

32:48through to our base and all the box and

32:50then we look at them all and we apply

32:51the fees and put through all the letter

32:53approvals. Then you apply for parks and

32:55then you apply for special events and

32:57then we approve it within two or three

32:59days. We push it out with the invoice

33:01attached to it. We do that for birthday

33:03parties, weddings,

33:05field rentals,

33:07playground rentals,

33:09anything. Anything we do we do it

33:10directly.

33:12>> Excuse me, Mr. Chairman. Apologies.

33:13Robin, do you mind using your mic when

33:15you're speaking? It's all right.

33:24>> Make this work somehow for him. I know

33:26it doesn't sound like anything close.

33:28Uh full season, but

33:30>> Yeah, he he

33:32He has he has been running fields from

33:35us for the last 15, 20 years.

33:41Right. And yeah and he he approved it.

33:43We just had to cancel it cuz it snowed.

33:46Yeah.

33:47So, he he has not been denied. And you

33:50can if you look on that back sheet

33:52Councilmember D'Alessandro,

33:54he is under Charleston Rugby.

33:57This is just for this year.

34:01I'm sorry. It might be this might be

34:02that first one.

34:04>> We do got to move on by the way for the

34:06next topic.

34:08>> Yeah, sorry. I I can give you how many

34:10permits he's I can go in and show you

34:11how many permits he's had.

34:13>> I think the issue with with he he's

34:14trying to he he wants to be able to

34:15schedule the fields far in advance and

34:17that's that's the the rub. We we we we

34:19can't schedule the you know, for 2027

34:22and that's that's the problem.

34:23>> And he he also wants to bring high

34:25schools, he wants to bring in colleges,

34:27and he wants to bring in tournaments and

34:29it's just it's not a tournament field.

34:31>> Correct.

34:33>> Hm?

34:33>> It's a tournament field.

34:34>> Yeah, oh yeah, yeah, yeah.

34:38>> Priority should be for residents

34:41of city of Charleston on city of

34:42Charleston fields.

34:45>> Right.

34:46Any last comments on that topic? We got

34:48to We got to move to the next one cuz

34:50that's what that's what people are here

34:51for to to hear about. I don't want to

34:53rush anybody. Are we good on that one?

34:55Okay, so next item is for new business,

34:58a discussion regarding the Parkshore

34:59pickleball courts and city communication

35:01efforts.

35:02I know that the the staff has a

35:04presentation

35:06that kind of summarizes an email that

35:07went out to all those who came to the

35:09the public meeting at in late September.

35:16>> Next slide.

35:20Uh so the purpose of this is to let you

35:22know how we got here, uh give you a

35:24little bit of information regarding the

35:26uh project funding, uh some of the past

35:29surveys that started in 2018,

35:33uh the modified design. Oh, bless you.

35:35Thank you.

35:36Makes it so much easier. Uh and then

35:38what happens next.

35:41Uh so how we got here. Uh there was a

35:43park survey that was completed by uh the

35:46prior administration in 2017.

35:49Uh that also included our previous

35:51director, uh Jason Cronsberg, and other

35:54staff that were here. Uh the results of

35:56that indicated that the residents were

35:58looking for upgrades to the park. Uh

36:01they were looking for restrooms and

36:03other things that are included in the

36:04parks master plan. Uh now in 2017,

36:08there's very little about pickleball.

36:10Pickleball didn't really start here in

36:12Charleston until uh 2020 2021, and

36:15that's when we started seeing a lot of

36:17the uh pickleball supporters come out to

36:19reach out to staff in the prior

36:20administration.

36:22Uh in 2020 uh in 2021, we had a parks

36:25and rec master plan. Uh keep in mind

36:28that that was during COVID. So, the

36:29information that we received from those

36:31during COVID was that they were looking

36:33for a lot of trails. They weren't

36:35looking for new fields. They weren't

36:36looking for new tennis courts. They were

36:38looking for things that they could

36:39socially distance. Um so, we took that

36:42into consideration, but we also took

36:44into a consideration what we knew about

36:46what was coming. So, we know that we are

36:48uh poorly um staffed for

36:52for pickleball. Not just staffing, but

36:54in terms of what facilities we can

36:56provide as well.

36:57Um so, we started in 2021 and 2022

37:01talking about uh what the next steps

37:03need to be. And uh the prior

37:05administration, Mayor Tecklenburg, uh

37:08had several emails and correspondence

37:09about um pickleball and the needs for

37:11pickleball.

37:13Um so, in 2023, we uh identified uh

37:16Parkshore as being one of the locations.

37:18That's one of three that we had the

37:20initiative for um

37:22pickleball.

37:23Um and then 2026. So, we started some

37:26designs. Uh we shared them uh with the

37:29council members. We've shared them with

37:31the community as a whole, um not in just

37:34the neighborhood, but with the

37:35pickleball supporters as well. Um and

37:37that was the first round of the 12

37:40courts. Um they were lighted that took

37:43over what was the baseball field. Uh we

37:45heard from the community uh from council

37:47member Tinkler that um the need was to

37:50keep that baseball field. So, we went

37:52back, took a look at at layouts. Um it

37:55was overbudget at 12, so we did uh take

37:58a little while to go back through the

37:59permitting process to figure out what we

38:01could afford, uh what we could get

38:03through permitting, and we came up with

38:05the four courts that were presented at

38:07the Parkshore uh neighborhood. Uh that

38:10included removing the basketball court

38:12uh and the handball court. Uh part of

38:15that was the information that we

38:16received previously from the community

38:18about the illicit activity that occurs

38:20at the basketball and the handball

38:22courts. Um to uh the gentleman's point,

38:25we have cleaned up

38:28used condoms, used uh

38:31drug paraphernalia.

38:33So, the thought was removing those will

38:36remove some of that ability for that

38:38illicit activity to occur.

38:41Uh this was the plan that was presented

38:43to the community.

38:44We talked about how we were keeping the

38:46baseball field. We were not increasing

38:49any of the previous area. So, the design

38:52team met with stormwater and it was

38:53determined that it was an even swap for

38:56what we have for the base for the

38:58basketball and for the hand courts

39:00for the uh

39:03four courts.

39:05Uh the funding that was identified. So,

39:08we had 400,000 for this project. That

39:12400,000 includes all of the design cost

39:15as well as the construction cost. This

39:17is not staff time. This is not anything

39:19else, but it is the engineers' times for

39:21permitting, their design fees, as well

39:23as their construction administration.

39:28Uh Powell residents used the park. This

39:29was from the fall 2017 and 18 study that

39:34went out. And so, what we saw from there

39:36is that they wanted a playground, they

39:38wanted walking,

39:40baseball, tennis, and basketball.

39:42Um how it gets used is indicated there.

39:45Very little use. So, part of what we

39:48were doing is trying to bring more eyes

39:50to the park, um more a little bit

39:52livelier park. Again, that helps with

39:54some of that illicit activity.

39:57Uh what residents wanted to see again

39:59from that same survey, they found that

40:01they wanted a multi-generational

40:03playground

40:05that was appealing. We believe that we

40:07have that. We did hear some comments

40:09that they are looking for additional

40:11playground elements to be added. Uh they

40:13wanted some enhanced walking trails, and

40:16they wanted

40:17uh likely to attend quarterly

40:19neighborhood meetings. It is my

40:20understanding that part of Parkshore

40:22does not have an HOA. So, uh we don't

40:25host meetings for y'all, but um

40:28not sure how that's intended to be

40:30resolved by this park, but that was some

40:32of the input that we received

40:33nonetheless.

40:35Uh the proposed new plan. So, when we

40:37met, we heard that uh

40:40you know, four were too much that

40:41included about 16 people possibly to be

40:43able to play. Uh some of the comments

40:46that we received was, you know, can we

40:47decrease it to two? Can we keep the

40:49basketball? Uh can we move it farther

40:51away from the homes? So, we took that,

40:55and we heard you. And so, we went from

40:57the four or two two. Uh we pushed it 30

41:01ft farther away from the homes. Right

41:04now, our closest home uh

41:07from the property line itself

41:09uh is approximately 318 ft to the

41:12property line, and that is the closest

41:14one. Uh with the house being 352 ft um

41:20So, you know, we heard you. There's no

41:21lighting. We're not even planning on the

41:23conduit anymore.

41:24Uh some of the other things that we have

41:26looked at as for improvements are the

41:28restrooms. We've heard that that the

41:30community wants restrooms. We've made

41:31improvements to the restrooms with more

41:33to come.

41:34Uh we are looking at ways to secure the

41:37park at night so some of that illicit

41:39activity that occurs after hours can be

41:41prevented as well.

41:43Uh so, what's changing? Uh we've

41:46mentioned that there are two fewer

41:47courts now. There's no lighting. We are

41:4930 ft farther away, and we are keeping a

41:51basketball. So, we're actually keeping

41:53the better of the two that are there

41:55right now. Uh there is a low spot that

41:57we do plan on addressing. So, we want to

41:59make sure that it's nice brand new court

42:01that has new surfacing, um new rim,

42:04everything else.

42:06Um

42:07we also heard that trees were an issue.

42:09So, uh we are preserving uh

42:12the large that was actually noted as a

42:1420-in that's that's the second line

42:17there, a second large oak. That is

42:18actually a um, a triple oak. So, we are

42:22keeping that. Uh, we noted that it is

42:25um, a portion of it would be considered

42:26a hazard tree, but we are working with

42:28urban forestry in ways to be able to

42:29preserve that tree and keep that. Uh,

42:32there's one 17-in oak uh, that would be

42:34removed and that's because we are just

42:36pushing that uh, proposing pushing that

42:38just a little bit closer to the parking

42:40lot.

42:41Um, the restrooms are done and it's

42:43cosmetic improvements. We are uh, for

42:45the work that is upcoming is electrical

42:47work and lighting. So, those uh,

42:50restrooms right now have no power, no

42:52lights. So, we are working on that to

42:54get that done as well as new doors and a

42:56timer for those doors and that way we

42:58won't have people now using that as a

43:00location for their activities as opposed

43:02to uh, the parking lot.

43:05Um, reducing sound. So, again, we've

43:08heard from y'all. Uh, what we mentioned

43:09during the presentation was that um, all

43:12of our studies show that uh, and all the

43:14research is that um, pickleball is uh,

43:18at the baseline and 100-ft away is a

43:2070-dB sound level. Uh, the farther you

43:23go away, if you are 200-ft, then that

43:26drops 6-dB. So, now you're at 64-dB.

43:29Uh, the farther away each 100-ft, it

43:31drops another 6-dB. Uh, and again, that

43:34is without anything. That is without a

43:36buffer, that is without sound mitigation

43:38or anything else. Acoustical fencing, we

43:41talked about that at the meeting. Uh,

43:43the acoustical fencing uh, is a poly

43:47vinyl material that gets mounted onto

43:49these uh, fencing. That decreases by

43:53approximately 20-dB on top of the

43:55distance. Uh, vegetative buffer also.

43:58So, you already have a buffer now. We've

43:59talked about being able to uh, beef up

44:02that buffer uh, and make sure that we

44:04have not just uh,

44:06you know, winter uh, plantings that that

44:09lose their leaves in the fall, but

44:10actual evergreen that will be able to

44:11help with some of that sound mitigation.

44:14Um, and we are looking into the sound

44:15mitigation study. Uh, we have reached

44:17out to a local uh, company who has

44:20provided what they call a desktop study.

44:23Um, we are also reaching out to a

44:25national um, company that has performed

44:28other work in Florida and California to

44:30see if they will provide us a proposal

44:32as well. Uh, what that means for you is

44:34that they will be knocking door to door.

44:36And they will be asking to do sound

44:39testing from your property line as well

44:41as from your house. And so, if you allow

44:43that, that will help us determine what

44:45those sound levels would be.

44:47Um, and that is where we are right now.

44:49So, you saw what was presented uh, on

44:51Facebook. And um, so far we are still

44:55um, just trying to refine what we're

44:56doing right now to make sure that we're

44:58hearing what what your concerns are.

45:01And that is it.

45:03>> Also very impressive presentation. Well

45:05done on that. Um, and the email that was

45:07sent out a couple weeks ago.

45:09Um,

45:10and it kind of ties a little bit into

45:11the last topic a little bit. Um, is the

45:14the demand for recreation across the

45:16city is very, very high.

45:17So, this is a cut a very heavy

45:21compromise in in valid response to the

45:24constituents.

45:25Um,

45:27yet still does provide some courts,

45:29which is in very, very high demand

45:31again. And it's in

45:33There's some positive surprises here

45:35that I don't think anyone here knew

45:37until this meeting um, about the the

45:38sound study. That's awesome. I think

45:40that that's that's what I just heard um,

45:42with the public comments.

45:44Um, so that's that's really good news.

45:46So, I think um,

45:47turn over to comments.

45:49>> Yeah, I think it's uh, appreciate

45:52staff's

45:53uh, working hard on this. Appreciate the

45:56residents concern and um,

45:59Councilman Tinkler working on this.

46:02Uh, there's no doubt the park currently

46:04is underutilized and to Chairman

46:07McBride's point, we we need to use every

46:09inch of every

46:11park that we have. Uh so we want it

46:13programmed. We want to make sure that we

46:15have more people out there so that we

46:17don't have um these nefarious activities

46:20going on and

46:22um but certainly respect the the concern

46:24over pickleball and that's again why

46:26we've reduced it down to two courts.

46:29Um

46:31and I think

46:32the compromise too also on adding more

46:34security measures, I think we were

46:35talking about putting an arm on the uh

46:38road as well, I think would be

46:40impactful. Make sure [snorts] people are

46:42using it in the right way at the right

46:44time. Um I did want to just point out

46:47though that uh and and I'm I'm

46:50supportive of working [snorts] on this

46:52sound study for sure. Um

46:55but we've had $400,000

46:59allocated to this property

47:02for

47:046 years now.

47:06Okay. So uh

47:09the longer we wait, and this isn't I'm

47:11just being stating a matter of fact

47:13here. The longer we wait, the more

47:16expensive these things are. And and um

47:206 years is a long time to get something

47:22done. I think we've

47:24hopefully gotten to a point where

47:27especially with the sound study, we can

47:29get everybody comfortable. But what we

47:32could have gotten 4 years ago or 6 years

47:34ago with $400,000

47:37is probably half of what we're going to

47:38be able to get now.

47:40And so I I would urge everybody to come

47:44together. I respect that we want to wait

47:46till all the leaves are down before we

47:48do the study. I'd rather do the study

47:50sooner rather than later, mainly because

47:53I mean, if we're not putting lights in,

47:56then nobody's going to be using the

47:57pickleball court in the winter because

47:59it's a dark at 5:00 5:30. So, um

48:04the faster we can push this forward now

48:06that we are generally all on board

48:09thanks to all the hard work from the

48:10residents and Councilman Tinkeler and

48:13staff, I think the better because the

48:15number is just going up and we're capped

48:18at 400 grand and I think this park is

48:20well overdue for some some love. So,

48:24that that'd be my one statement, Mr.

48:26Chair.

48:28>> Thank you, Mr. Marinello. And for the

48:29the people that came,

48:31these

48:32these meetings are on YouTube, so please

48:34share this with your neighbors on

48:36YouTube so they can see the full

48:37discussion we had. Just

48:38information is really important. Um any

48:41other comments from

48:42anybody in the committee on this topic?

48:46>> Council member Wearing has his hand up.

48:48>> Oh, Councilman Wearing.

48:50>> Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Um

48:53I played basketball on that

48:56court out there. Uh my family and I used

48:58to come and picnic at this park, believe

48:59it or not.

49:01Um

49:02and um my brother used to beat my brains

49:04out over there on that

49:04>> Mr. Gerald, Councilman Wearing, can you

49:06let us know next time you play

49:08basketball out there?

49:09>> I still can shoot my jumper, okay. But

49:12um

49:13I'll hit the jumper from the wing right

49:14now.

49:15Um

49:16but anyway, um this is a wonderful park.

49:19What I'm talking about was uh

49:23easily 40 years ago.

49:25Um um

49:26we had two kids at the time. We were

49:28picnicking right underneath that

49:29shelter.

49:30Play basketball. Uh

49:32I mean play uh tennis on that court and

49:33then some Middleton guys and I we would

49:36play three on three right at the

49:37basketball court. So, it's it's a

49:39wonderful park. Um my question is and I

49:42appreciate the staff. Mr. Mayor, I

49:44appreciate you uh

49:46uh

49:47getting us together, speak with the the

49:49neighbors over over and certainly

49:51uh Councilman Tinkler

49:53um

49:54listening and um bringing the word back

49:57to try get uh compromise on this. Um

50:01that said

50:03my question is on the 400,000 fixed

50:07um

50:09the park definitely lacks uh from

50:12I'm going to say maintenance. Uh

50:14I I looked at the other day I looked at

50:16uh the Bad News Bears

50:18and that was probably the worst baseball

50:19team in America

50:21that uh they put on the screen. But, you

50:23know what? They had a roof over the

50:24dugout.

50:25There's no roof over the dugout over

50:27here. So, I don't blame those kids in

50:29August and

50:30July and August for not wanting to be on

50:32that field. Um

50:34so I some kind of way, man, we can

50:37squeeze out some money to um

50:39properly put uh roofs on the dugout over

50:42there. And you're right, uh Mr.

50:43Chairman, we need as many fields as we

50:45can.

50:46And that baseball field I invite anybody

50:48I I was over there probably about 3

50:50weeks ago.

50:51And um rode over there after church. And

50:53the and the baseball field just needs

50:55some TLC. That's all.

50:57TLC. So, I

50:59I would think we could um I saw I saw

51:01the email where it said that um

51:04funds couldn't be shifted. And you know,

51:06me being a numeric guy, Mr. Mayor

51:08I kind of wonder where did that come

51:10from?

51:11Uh if we've got some money's in reserves

51:13um maybe we can get with our CFO and

51:17find out to get a few more bucks to if

51:19we going to make repairs to this park

51:22um let's not patch it.

51:25Um let's let's uh kind of do it the

51:26right way. So, when we when we go

51:29um

51:30it'll be uh something that you know,

51:32years from now. As I said, I played over

51:34there 40 years ago. Um

51:37and it was a wonderful park then and the

51:39bones are still there. So, decades from

51:42now somebody could say

51:44you know, way back in 2026 or 27

51:47This This park was restored to its full

51:50capabilities. My understanding and uh

51:53Councilman Tingler, you can help me out

51:55with this. I I think there's a walking

51:56trail over there and you told me that

51:59I think it was done by the idea was an

52:01Eagle Scout that came up with that and

52:03maybe the city can enhance that, but

52:06um

52:07um that the

52:08All of us are familiar with Northbridge

52:10Park. Mr. Mayor, you may not be familiar

52:13with this, but that was the idea of a

52:1416-year-old student at West Ashley High

52:18that approached um

52:20then

52:21Councilman Aubrey Alexander with the

52:23idea and now it's a a a park that we all

52:26enjoy. So, when it comes to

52:29you know, improving our parks, I'm a big

52:30fan of it because um

52:33we try to use them all. My family and I

52:35are a big park family, so um there's a

52:37wonderful park over there and sometimes

52:40you ride by on Sam Rittenberg and you

52:42don't know that little piece of paradise

52:44is right on the other side of the trees,

52:45so

52:46uh if we can

52:48we can This is a topic for another day,

52:50but I if there's a way we can squeeze

52:52out a little bit more money to make

52:53improvements to that field over there so

52:55those kids can use it

52:56uh a little bit better and like I said,

52:58put dugouts and maybe improve the

53:00walking trail.

53:01That's not on this agenda, but I'm sure

53:03we can find a way to get

53:06improvements. So, when we leave there

53:08um you know, just think of what the city

53:10has done. The old Boy Scout um

53:14building over there that was kind of I'm

53:16going to say falling in disrepair has

53:18been revitalized. You know, we've got

53:21all of excitement that's taken place

53:23with Ashley Landing and

53:25you know, uh I still call it Ashley

53:27Plantation Plantation, but Old Town Park

53:29and Charleston Landing and the widened

53:32biking pedestrian path. This corridor is

53:36an exciting corridor that the city along

53:38with the county

53:39is uh making good things happen, so

53:43when you look at at all the intersection

53:45improvements,

53:46when we leave this area,

53:48um

53:49you know,

53:51families should be um

53:54uh

53:55excited

53:56for the next decade or two to come.

53:59So, anyway, my plea is

54:02let's just not stop with the two basket

54:04I mean pickleball courts, which

54:06um

54:07I appreciate the distance and the

54:09surrounding and all of that. It's

54:11good things going to happen by

54:13listening, so

54:15let's end up best in class when we leave

54:17here.

54:18Thank you.

54:19>> Thanks, Councilman Waring. Councilman

54:20Tickler.

54:23>> Thank you,

54:24Chairman McBryan. I realize I'm not on

54:25this committee,

54:27but can I second Councilman Waring's

54:28motion for money for pickleball for

54:30Parkshore Park? Okay.

54:33Um no, I I want to just to add to what

54:36Councilman Waring said. I I think um

54:40about Parkshore Park is a great park.

54:43Uh the address for Parkshore Park is at

54:451 Windsor Drive. My address

54:48uh

54:49is at 4 Windsor Drive.

54:51So,

54:52I am impacted by anything that happens

54:55at Parkshore Park.

54:57Um

54:58so I have a very

55:00uh keen interest in what what's going on

55:03over there.

55:04Um and I I really appreciate Chairman

55:07McBride and the mayor and the and his

55:10office and kind of everything

55:12they've done uh frankly to go out of

55:14their way to make sure that the

55:17residents of Parkshore are heard heard

55:19on this, that the pickleball community

55:21is heard on this.

55:23We've heard

55:24uh

55:25well

55:27I know I I don't get all the pickleball

55:29community emails, but you know, there

55:31there is a there is a tremendous demand

55:34for this. It's it's it's the

55:36uh fastest growing sport in America I

55:39think for the fifth year in a row.

55:41And

55:43yeah, that's that's that means something

55:45and that I know we've talked about the

55:48master plan and how

55:50it it it didn't seem to foresee the

55:53explosion of pickleball but it it

55:55certainly recognizes even at that time

55:57there was an undersupply of courts

55:59in the city. So, you know, that's when

56:02when I hear when I hear that information

56:04obviously it it it

56:06it

56:07it

56:08it's it's meaningful to me. I'm not a

56:10pickleball player.

56:12But um

56:14yeah, I I I I can't um well

56:17I get concerns

56:19more more more concerns

56:21um

56:22about what's happening at Parkwood Park

56:25and the underutilization of Parkwood

56:26Park.

56:27I ride by there especially in the last

56:29several weeks.

56:31I've been going by there pretty

56:32frequently and

56:34there is there you know, you'll see

56:35tennis players out there. I did see

56:39one basketball player finally yesterday.

56:41So, uh there there it's getting used but

56:44it it does not get um as much use as I

56:47think it should and it and it could. And

56:51um

56:53yeah, so trying to figure out how to how

56:55to achieve that

56:57that important goal. I know my

56:59predecessor Councilman Shea had

57:01uh

57:02tried I think he pulled out all of his

57:04hair or trying to figure out this

57:05problem uh and

57:08uh cuz it it is I'm I'm over there

57:10picking up litter

57:11uh

57:12the things that you've heard today about

57:14about activities that should not be

57:16happening there um

57:19you know, trying to solve that problem.

57:20So, I I appreciate

57:23staff and everything that y'all have

57:24done um you know, to try to

57:28listen to what everybody has had to say

57:30and to try to find the compromise. I I'm

57:34I've read through the the comments

57:36from

57:38for you know for the meeting today.

57:41Heard what everyone is saying. Yeah, it

57:43it sounds like everyone is sort of open

57:46to some compromise here. So,

57:48that's what I hope we can achieve. I

57:51think it's it's the best way to just to

57:54>> [snorts]

57:55>> you know to bring some use to that park

57:57um

57:59and hopefully try to

58:01start the process of

58:03uh we've already we've already started

58:04the process of checking off the things

58:06like the bathrooms and but you know to

58:08to counselor Waring's point that there

58:10there's a lot more potential whether

58:12it's trails or

58:15uh or you know

58:17improvements to the baseball field

58:19uh

58:20you know this is this is just

58:23this is just a start and certainly

58:24something that I'm going to be

58:26continuing to push for.

58:28Uh so again I I appreciate

58:31I appreciate the chair allowing me to to

58:33make those comments and

58:35um

58:36you know I hope we can we can find some

58:38compromise to bring some some life back

58:41to Parkchester Park.

58:42Thank you.

58:43>> I think we're well on our way. Again,

58:45thanks to the staff.

58:47Any last comments from anybody since we

58:48got a community meeting coming up here?

58:50Okay.

58:51Thanks everybody. We'll stand adjourned.