Sedalia Park Board Discusses Pickleball Popularity

The Sedalia Park Board met on Thursday with a few members missing. But a quorum was not necessary, as no decisions were made, and the meeting was simply informational.

Those in attendance included Parks & Rec Director Amy Epple, Park Board President Jerry Case,  Executive Administrative Assistant Renaie Hoard, and board members Sydni Herrick, Dan VanDyne and Megan Simon.

“Nothing was voted on,” Epple stressed, adding that she provided highlights of 2024 courtesy of Savannah Lynde. Marketing & Special Events Manager, who assembled the facts & figures list and is viewable on Parks & Rec’s Facebook page.

During the meeting, Epple gave kudos to the maintenance staff, who kept the lot cleared at the Heckart Community Center and other places within the Parks system. The Heckart was quite busy with schools out for the holidays and during snow days as well.

The popularity of pickleball was a subject of conversation at Thursday’s meeting. The Heckart’s pickleball courts are available on a first-come, first-served basis.

“We have three nets on one court, so the most who are getting to play (at one time) is 12 people,” Epple told KSIS. “We really have tried to make improvements on our end as well, getting the schedule out to the community so they know when pickleball is available, when basketball is available and when volleyball is available. And then programming. When we went to the public, we said that we would always have one court always for community members, and we’ve really stuck with that. But we really need those other two courts for rentals.”

She explained that there are groups like volleyball clubs who use the courts also, and “every dime that it costs us to operate it, it does not come from sales tax or property tax or anything like that. It comes from user fees.”

Epple noted that sports clubs that use the Heckart “are good money makers for us” and she doesn’t want to stifle that flow.

Plus, Epple noted, minimum wage goes up steadily every year. “This next budget year, it’s going to be at least a $125,000 increase, just in salaries for us. So where does that money come from?” Epple asked. “We try our best to keep things affordable. But we have to bring in the revenue.”

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But the one thing that Epple wants to stress is that people have to share the facilities. Especially if there are others waiting to use them.

Signage to that effect will be posted at the Heckart concerning Pickleball Etiquette.

There is a possibility of converting the northernmost tennis courts at Liberty Park into Pickleball Courts. But that will take money and time to accomplish, Epple noted. And long-range plans call for pickleball courts to be constructed at Centennial Park as well.

Since Smith-Cotton High School recently constructed their own tennis courts just off Tiger Pride Boulevard on the S-C campus, the demand for tennis tournaments being played at Liberty Park has been greatly reduced. Plus, tennis is not quite as popular as pickleball is now, Epple explained.

As for the new bowling and aquatics facility on the other side of town, Park Board members should be able to see a soft draft by the end of February or beginning of March with conceptual drawings from Hoefer Welker.

While Epple toured nearby facilities at Warrensburg and Whiteman, other staff toured bowling and aquatic facilities in the Kansas City area to help gather ideas and concepts for the Memory Lanes project here in Sedalia.

Construction work at Liberty Park Stadium has been slowed due to the weather, but completion is still expected by March 1, Epple said.

Sedalia Park Board meets again Feb. 13. The public is invited to attend.