Courts Sent to Capital Review: What Happens Next

At its October 5 meeting, the North Kingstown Budget and Finance Advisory Committee voted to recommend that the School Committee ensure the NKHS tennis courts go through the town’s asset management process for the FY27 capital improvement program. Uprise RI covered it here: https://upriseri.com/article/north-kingstown-panel-sends-high-school-tennis-courts-to-capital-process/

You can watch the meeting here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_7aydCtICo. The tennis court discussion starts at about 32:00, and the vote is at about 43:45.

This is not a funding decision. The courts will compete for money alongside other capital requests. Last year they went through the same process, were ranked 23rd, and were not funded.

Superintendent Duva updated the committee on cost: a replacement estimate in the range of $500,000, and up to $1 million if engineering work on drainage and landscaping is needed. He said the RFP has not gone out yet because the district did not want to write one that left out the drainage details. This updates the $400,000 to $500,000 figure from the September 22 memo.

The district hopes to do the work in the spring, hopefully by summer, so the courts are ready for fall 2027. That means the boys’ team is expected to play its spring home matches in Jamestown, as the girls’ team is doing this fall.

Members also discussed the town sharing the cost, since town recreation programs and residents use these courts. Dr. Duva said those conversations have started and staff are pulling usage records. The advisory committee meets again on December 14.

Thank you to everyone who has signed and spoken up, and to Uprise RI for covering this. A decision with this much money attached can easily slip down the list, so please keep signing and sharing.