John Scarffe, Nederland.  The Nederland Board of Trustees received a request from the Mountain Tennis & Pickleball Association (MTPA) for a grant match to resurface the Racquets and Ice for Nederland Kids (RINK) tennis and ice courts during a regular meeting at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, March 15, 2016, at the Nederland Community Center. A $2,650 Board commitment would match funds for a United States Tennis Association (USTA) grant to resurface Town owned tennis courts.

The United States Tennis Association (USTA), Colorado offered grant funds to municipalities for resurfacing public tennis courts, according to background information. USTA requires that any matching funds come from the municipality that owns the public courts by April 1, 2016.

The average life span of a tennis court surface is five to seven years. The Nederland courts are now almost nine years old, and usage and mountain environment are causing surface deterioration, especially on the east court.

MTPA recommends a three-phase resurfacing program to stagger costs and minimize disruption for users.

MTPA has a fixed price bid from a credible area contractor, Cody & Co., in the amount of $5,300 for the first phase, which is the resurfacing of the most deteriorated court. This will take place in the summer of 2016, according to background.

The grant and match would cover this cost. The matching grant aligns with the NedZero goal to support the Nederland Community Center and area recreational groups such as RINK in providing recreational opportunities for local residents.

MTPA contracts with RINK to manage summer operation of the courts, which includes programming for children and adults for tennis and pickleball as well as daily upkeep of the courts for public use. The tennis courts and ice rink facility was built on Town property in 2007 with grant funds from Great Outdoors Colorado (GOCO). The Town currently leases the facility to RINK for development and ongoing operations.

MTPA representative Dennis Davenport told the Trustees that he was at the meeting to continue wellness activities for the community through low-cost fitness activities. Summer tennis and pickleball has totaled more than 1,100 uses per day from the end of May to the end of October for the past three years and is growing. This includes children and adult camps and partnering with local schools.

The courts have experienced lots of wear and tear, and resurfacing them is not cheap, Davenport said. The courts degrade, and they become dangerous to play on. “We’ve patched it before, but patching doesn’t do as good of a job.”

The USTA has provided grant money in the past. “They are very happy with the success of the courts for a town of this size,” Davenport said. “We ask you that we continue these courts so we can continue this program.”

Town Administrator Alisha Reis said the matching funds would come from the general funds reserve that can well accommodate this expense. “We have an opportunity to get half of the resurfacing funds from the grant.”

Davenport said MTPA requested $5,000 per year, and Reis said those funds were approved for three years in 2017, 2018 and 2019. Some of those funds could now be pulled forward.

Davenport explained that MTPA is a member of USTA and was formed to run programming and maintenance in 2011. MTPA membership totals more than 100 people and includes those outside of the Nederland area.

MTPA rents the Community Center gymnasium for pickleball, and members bring their own equipment.

Trustee Kevin Mueller said he is not a big fan of an acrylic surface, which gets thrown away, and not a fan of this being part of the Town’s infrastructure. Trustee Topher Donahue said he doesn’t like this model of charging $10 per month for RINK usage.

“Recreation is really important. I could see a Board deciding we’re not going to pay for this anymore,” Donahue said. “I would like to see these systems be self-sustaining.

“I would rather have the money go for food for the needy. It’s a bit of an issue the way it’s designed.” Now, however, he is in favor of continuing what has been started.

Mayor Joe Gierlach said: “I’m torn, because I agree with your points. If we built stand- alone courts, we could do clay courts. Geirlach helped build these courts, and they are extremely expensive.

“We’re kind of stuck with this system and the maintenance of this. The technique was used by nonprofits ten years ago,” Gierlach said. “I’m going to vote for this. Community minded individuals are taking this on for free.”

The Board approved Gierlach’s motion to match the grant. The April 5 Board meeting will be cancelled due to Town elections. The next meeting of the Nederland Board of Trustees will be on Tuesday, April 19, 2016, at 7 p.m. at the Nederland Community Center.