We, the undersigned, respectfully ask Anacortes City Council to vote NO on the Anacortes Parks & Recreation Department’s proposal to convert two of the middle school tennis courts to a dual use of pickleball and tennis.

The Parks & Recreation Department has submitted a proposal to convert two (of the existing six) tennis courts located next to Anacortes Middle School/Fidalgo Pool into pickleball courts. The proposal is to convert the two most southern courts into dual usage tennis and pickleball courts at a cost of $70,000 of taxpayers' money. If City Council votes to approve this plan, then the final approval will come from the Anacortes School District, who owns these tennis courts.

This proposal has been presented to City Council with no input from the tennis community, and no prior notice to nearby residents to gather public input.  Please note:

• As part of the city’s comprehensive plan, the city has an obligation to maintain the current six tennis courts, ensuring they remain safe and usable for residents. All six tennis courts desperately need repair as they currently have deep dangerous cracks throughout the surface which can cause bodily injury. Parks & Rec are proposing to use $70,000 of taxpayers’ dollars to resurface two courts with no stated plan for the remaining four. Why are we focusing on using taxpayers’ money to convert two courts to pickleball before addressing the current damage, regular upkeep and future needs of the tennis courts as originally outlined in the city plan?
   
• These courts are the practice and competition courts for our district and state-winning Anacortes High School Boys & Girls tennis teams. Visiting teams may refuse to play on the dual usage courts due to the confusing nature of dual pickleball/tennis court lines. In addition, tennis has always created pathways for kids as young as 5 years old and made it an educational priority in school curriculums. Why are we creating obstacles for our middle school/high school tennis teams and prospective young tennis players who are curious to learn about tennis? 
   
• This proposal was put forth as an attempt to solve the many noise complaints from the pickleball courts located on Blakely Dr. in the Clearidge neighborhood and anecdotal evidence that the current tennis courts have low usage. However, there has been no clear criteria used to explain why the current Clearidge pickleball courts (already funded by taxpayers’ dollars) need to be moved/added to, let alone clear standards of low usage at the tennis courts. Having not solved the noise issue in Clearidge, how does adding additional pickleball courts in a new neighborhood solve this issue?
   
• There are countless examples across the country of dual usage courts failing miserably. As the popularity of pickleball continues to surge, municipalities have tried to find a solution by converting existing tennis courts into dual usage tennis and pickleball courts. Ultimately both parties are frustrated and unhappy as the two sports are very different: the length of each game and wait times, scoring, drop-in style vs scheduled match play, different set of court lines. It has also proven to be taxing on city resources as they are dealing with a new set of complaints from tennis and pickleball players alike. How will converting these courts into dual usage courts make it a better experience for either party in Anacortes?
   

We, the undersigned, ask Anacortes City Council to oppose this proposed plan, take a step back to truly examine this issue in a thoughtful way and work with the pickleball community to invest their resources in building a facility they deserve.

In addition to signing this petition, please contact city council to share your thoughts and oppose this plan.

City Council <citycouncil@anacorteswa.gov>
Individual city council members <https://www.anacorteswa.gov/818/City-Council-Members>