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PARKS & RECREATION COMMISSION
APPROVED Meeting Minutes
Regular Meeting on Thursday, August 17, 2023
1. CALL TO ORDER
The duly noticed regular meeting of the Burlingame Parks & Recreation Commission was called
to order by Chair Pappajohn at 7:01 pm.
2. ROLL CALL
COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Holzman, Brunello, Pappajohn, Milne, Yu, and Wettan
COMMISSIONERS ABSENT: Chang
STAFF PRESENT: Parks & Recreation Director Glomstad, Parks
Superintendent Holtz, Parks Supervisor Baron, Recreation
Manager Acquisti, Recreation Coordinator Conefrey &
Recording Secretary Helley
OTHERS PRESENT: Lisa Kowalski, Ron Hill, Juanita Lucero
3. APPROVAL OF MINUTES
The June minutes will be available for approval at a future meeting.
4. CORRESPONDENCE
None
5. PUBLIC COMMENTS
None
6. OLD BUSINESS
None
7. NEW BUSINESS
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a. New Recreation Coordinator — Colleen Conefrey
Colleen Conefrey worked for Recreation & Park Departments in San Francisco and Rohnert Park.
She also has worked for the San Francisco Police Department and most recently worked as a legal
secretary for a private legal firm. She will be overseeing the senior programs, the community
garden, and the building staff. She is looking forward to connecting with the community and
serving the public.
Commission welcomed her to the department.
b. Potential Washington Tennis and Pickleball Court Resurfacing and Direction for
Additional Pickleball Lining and Court Colors
Recreation Manager Acquisti noted there are three items for consideration tonight: 1) should
additional pickleball court lines be added to Washington Courts #2-4; 2) if yes, approval of two
pickleball courts per tennis court; and 3) consider changing court colors to green facility with blue
tennis and bright blue pickleball lines. She noted that four pickleball courts are currently lined on
court # 1. She provided background information, as noted in the staff report.
She also informed the Commission that Washington Courts has surface cracks that need to be
repaired. Staff is currently exploring resurfacing options to see if the current CIP budget has funds
to complete the resurfacing in FY2023-24. Current estimates are higher than expected. However,
CIP funds could be transferred from other funds to complete the work.
She noted that the pickleball community has spoken out, requesting more courts for play. The
sport is rising in popularity, and courts are in demand. The number of pickleball court offerings
has increased in the last year with the increased requests/demands for more courts. She has heard
from the tennis community that they would like to keep the courts as they are, as it gets a bit
confusing with all the additional lines.
Director Glomstad noted that the USTA group mentioned that they would rather not have
additional pickleball lines. Still, some emails did come in from tennis players saying if they could
keep two tennis courts without pickleball lines, it seemed like they were amenable to adding
pickleball lines to at least one of the tennis courts.
Acquisti stated that in conjunction with those additional lines if additional lines are added, staff
would also be asking for direction on purchasing additional pickleball nets. The estimated cost is
$600 per net. Glomstad stated that if people wanted to donate new nets, we would accept donations
also.
Chair Pappajohn opened Commission discussion.
Commissioner Wettan asked what the pathway fund was and what it was for. Superintendent
Holtz replied the fund was used for pathway improvements throughout our parks, specifically, the
asphalt pathways that go through all our parks throughout our parks system. He added that several
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areas had been identified for improvements. Glomstad noted pathway work was done to reduce
trip hazards.
Wettan inquired if this would affect the same funds used for a recent issue about dog parks. Holtz
replied he did not anticipate this to be the same CIP account.
Wettan additionally inquired about the line colors. He wanted to know if the pickleball courts
would be an entirely different color, overlaid on the tennis court, so as a tennis player, you would
have to know which lines are for tennis. Acquisti stated that the staff recommendation is changing
the court colors to blue and green with bright blue pickleball lines.
Wettan wondered if there was increased pushback from the tennis community as opposed to during
previous discussions about the additional lining on the courts. Acquisti noted the feedback from
USTA and tennis players was to keep at least two only tennis -lined courts.
Commissioner Brunello found the information on the colors fascinating and wondered if there had
been any input from the community about the color of the court from those who are color-blind.
Acquisti stated there has been none.
Commissioner Yu noted that staff talked to other cities, and she asked whether they went with a
different color palette. Acquisti stated it varies with each city.
Commissioner Milne asked if the USTA has stopped renting from us due to the additional lining.
Acquisti replied they do not rent as much as previously. Rentals are more people who play
competitively to practice for tournaments. Milne inquired if it was likely that putting other lines
on the court disqualified those courts from some level of competition, so they would not be able
to rent them. Acquisti did not know if they would be disqualified.
Milne asked if money was taken from the fund for this work would fewer pathways would be
fixed. Holtz responded that there is no definitive list. More pathways need work this year due to
tree failures, and others have been cracking or in a dilapidated state for years.
Milne asked for confirmation that the pickleball nets to be purchased would be the semi -permanent
nets on wheels that are currently on the courts. Acquisti confirmed this to be the case.
Pappajohn inquired if there was data on how many tennis players or how often tennis players are
using the tennis courts. Acquisti stated the data is in our registration system. However, she did
not have that information with her now. Pappajohn wondered if the courts were striped for
pickleball and there was a large demand for tennis, would it be an issue? Acquisti stated she did
not think they wouldn't use the courts, but it is not their ideal situation.
Pappajohn asked how the reservation system at Washington worked. If we stripe for pickleball
and pickleball players are on the court, can a tennis player still reserve the court or not? Acquisti
replied that Supervisor Vega, who manages our reservation system, is working on a reservation
system that takes a court "offline" when it has been reserved to avoid duplicate reservations.
Currently, a court can be reserved two hours in advance.
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APPROVED Minutes August 17, 2023
Pappajohn asked if a court could be reserved during drop -in play on the courts. Acquisti replied
that the court would be "offline" and not reservable during designated drop -in hours.
Commissioner Holzman recalled there had been some pickleball people who said they are a very
gung-ho community. They would love to get involved in raising some funds for some of the things
they need. She asked if staff had heard anything further about that from any groups that have come
together and said they would like higher quality nets and would raise money for them. Acquisti
replied there was one donation for the pickleball paddle holders but no other donations. Holzman
noted the tennis benches could be used for anything and were purchased through a fundraising
effort by the Foundation.
Pappajohn opened public comment, noting comments should be kept to two minutes due to the
number of emails and letters submitted and people in attendance.
Lisa Kowalski: "I would like to address several things I have heard here this evening. I have
never heard of a pickleball task force and would love to know who is on that. I'd love to know if
members of the community are on that. Are there any members of the pickleball community on
the task force? I know, speaking also for myself, that the pickleball community would love to be
involved. We have tried to be involved. We have asked to be involved, and that has not happened.
When holders have been put up, they were just put up overnight, and wooden holders that we had
created were taken down and trashed. Those holders are dangerous, they are a safety hazard, and
they are not put up in appropriate places that can be useful. We would love to be a part of this and
make this a great program. Talking about what lines are good for people who are color blind, with
all due respect, that's great. We are just looking for some basics. Like having courts that are safe,
clean and don't have holes in them. The tennis courts you asked about how frequently they are
being used, again, there are four of us here and usually there's no more than one court being used
by tennis when we are playing. We have 35 people lined up on the sides. Thank you."
Ron Hill: "I play pickleball in a variety of places in the city. I play here in Burlingame, I also play
in Palo Alto, where there are 15 pickleball courts. I play there sometimes in the morning and
sometimes in the afternoon, and they are always full. So again, there is a lot of interest in this
sport. A lot of people are playing, and you know Palo Alto is a great place to play with their 15
courts, and they do have some organization there that is noteworthy. But very popular sport there
and it could be very popular here too. Thank you."
Correspondence submitted and read for the record:
Karen Mead: "Please accept this letter of recommendation supporting the permanent placement
of pickleball courts at Washington Park. As a Burlingame resident, I was an early fan of the sport
a few years ago and played on the basketball sports court at WA Park. Quickly these portable
courts became too crowded and hours/days limited. Since that time, I've transferred playing time
to courts in Foster City, which are well maintained and offers a fun community of players through
their FC Pickleball Club and other pickleball activities. Pickleball is continuing to grow in
popularity and number of players. Please consider expanding Burlingame's support of this
growing sport. I'd love to be able to play in my "own Backyard" with permanent courts at
Washington Park."
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Shelia Krakow: "I do not understand the logic of no pickleball only courts at this time. The staff
report suggested these 3 "reasons" 1. exponential cost? not sure how frequently resurfacing costs
come up, but I am guessing not often. All the more reason the time to give our city a dedicated
pickleball space is now. I don't understand why cost is a reason not to install permanent -only
pickleball? Hard to realize, after the resurfacing cost, why it is so much more $$ to paint dedicated
pickleball courts (on one court) vs. just lines? 2. ratio? Instead of stating as a ratio 10 PB, 4
tennis, for the Washington site, it would be more equitable to state it as overall square footage.
Maintain 1/2 overall footage as dedicated tennis, roughly 1/4 shared --court #2, and create Court
#1 as a fully dedicated pickleball. 3. priority? Priority status for weekend hours is good, but isn't
this really just a space saver (a nod to the popularity of the sport?) until a dedicated space can come
about? Again, the time has come during this proposed resurface/striping project for dedicated
pickleball! Other considerations are below, which I hope may urge our planners to not let this
resurface opportunity go by without including a dedicated pickleball court. A) More people
wanting to use pickleball courts may come from: Pickleball is now a PE unit at BHS. New studies
show that the average age of pickleball players is 34.8 years old. (as compared to 41 years in
2020) And the number of players between 35 and 44 has increased by a whopping 86% since
August 2022 from: https://www.sportsdestinations.com/sports/individual-sports/not just-
seniorsport-
any-longer-pickleball-31997; B). As a former recreational tennis player, I would not like that all
4 tennis courts at Washington will have interfering pickleball lines. Keep courts 3 and 4 tennis
dedicated, make court 2 a share court, and bring court 1 into the 21th century with a dedicated 4
court pickleball space; C) Missing in the total court count in the report is the loss of indoor
pickleball with the new rec center not reinstating it. (sorry, could not resist adding this); D) As
stated in other Zoom meetings, the pickleball opportunity (counted as 3 courts) at Washington
sport court is a weak one with a huge time commitment before play can even begin.
Thank you for listening."
Troy Grabow: "I am a resident of Burlingame and play both tennis and pickleball at Washington
Park on a regular basis. Starting with some positives. First, it is great news that courts will be
resurfaced. Additionally, it has been great to see all the activity on the pickleball
courts recently.
A few things to consider: 1) I only heard about the meeting this morning and many of my regular
tennis players just heard about it as well, so many likely will not be able to attend
or provide comments. So, you might not have the benefit of a large number of views in today's
meeting. 2) Has there been any discussion as to having one or two of the courts be tennis -only?
I'm concerned that I'll go over to play tennis and all four courts will be occupied by pickleball
players. Having one or two tennis -only courts would also have the benefit of not having the
temporary pickleball nets in the backcourts, as having temporary nets is dangerous if you are
playing tennis and running after a lob or go deep into the backcourt. Or is there a plan to expand
the surface so that there is a better place to put the temporary PB nets? 3) I'd prefer for there to be
PB-only courts somewhere else in an ideal world, like they have in Foster City, to help to prevent
the almost inevitable struggle of sharing the courts between PB and tennis players. 4) If they are
shared, I'd strongly suggest that there are some clear and enforceable rules as to when pickleball
can spill into courts 2-4. I am particularly concerned about during peak times such as when lessons
start around 3pm, after 5pm during the week as well as on weekends, when the courts are routinely
completely full. Please give lots of thought to this as we want everyone to have an enjoyable
experience at the courts. Thank you."
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Rekha Barbour: "I would like to express my support & plea for resurfacing & dedicating more
pickleball courts at Washington Park. As a San Mateo County resident, I spend about 10 hours
per week at the Washington Park courts. The community members who play here are older & the
cracks in the concrete are becoming a real safety hazard. It would be prudent to address this
potential liability before a serious injury occurs. Without fail, the pickleball courts are packed
with players lined up in a queue while the tennis courts remain empty. I request that consideration
be given to allot another tennis court or two to pickleball courts as the community demand for one
sport is far greater than the other. Appreciate any efforts to make the Burlingame courts as safe &
permanent as the ones in Foster City. Thank you for adding this to tonight's agenda."
Leesa and Dave Richter: "As a resident of San Mateo county and a frequent user of the courts at
Washington Park I have enjoyed immensely the opportunity to learn and play the game of
pickleball. Over the course of the last year and a half I have noticed the following; 1) the amount
of people using the courts have grown significantly, making the courts crowded and wait times to
play longer; 2) the surfacing of the courts have become cracked and uneven in some places causing
safety issues; 3) the roll away nets have become bent and damaged. While the pickleball courts
are crowded it's hard not to notice that often the tennis courts are not. Would it be possible to
convert one more tennis court to pickleball courts? As pickleball continues its rise in popularity I
am sure the pickleball courts will become even more crowded. It is our hope to enjoy this sport
on safe courts and without long waits. In closing I want to thank you for the opportunity to play
pickleball in Burlingame."
Matthew Robinson: "I'm a big supporter for updating our existing courts as well as adding more
playing locations in Burlingame. Thanks."
Adrienne Leigh: "Thank you Ms. Glomstad and Parks commissioners for the opportunity to
comment on improvements at Washington Park. This is Adrienne Leigh. I am currently playing
USTA tennis and am a frequent pickleball player both here and in other communities. First, I'd
like to begin by thanking you for increasing the number of potential pickleball courts at
Washington Park from 4 to 10. Often when I play pickle at Washington Park, we have 16 or more
people waiting to play. It can take 15 minutes of waiting for a 12-minute game. So, it's really
crowded. Additionally, while I am waiting for a court, I have observed tennis courts with no one
using them. So, it makes sense to utilize the limited number of courts we have to their fullest
potential. As a USTA league tennis player, I have played on courts with pickle or basketball lines
on them. Though it's not ideal, within a few minutes I was used to having extra lines on court, and
it worked out fine. Secondly, the suggested blue green paint is the color combination that makes
both a tennis and pickle ball color stand out. The blue/ green combination is basically being used
everywhere, so great choice. Pertaining to the striping, be sure the pickle courts have equal
distance from the fence line and center tennis nets. It's also best to utilize as many as the same
lines as the tennis lines as possible. In closing, we could still really use a bike rack outside the
tennis courts. We are locking them to the picnic tables and trees. Thank you for listening to me,
and Thank you for adding extra pickleball courts AND for resurfacing all the Washington Park
courts."
Frances Larose: "We would like the PB courts cleaned up"
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Kristin Bergman: "As a long-time Burlingame resident and a consistent renter of the tennis courts
for pickleball, I encourage more lines and nets for pickleball. Putting two courts on one tennis
court is efficient and allows more people to play while also leaving the tennis court intact.
Pickleball is community building! Thank you."
Christina Chen: "I am a San Mateo County resident and frequent user of the pickleball courts in
Washington park. Pickleball has provided me with great opportunities to meet people of all ages
in the community while getting sunshine and exercise. As the pickleball community has grown,
the courts have become overcrowded, the temporary nets have become worn, and the cracks on
the courts have made it harder to play safely. I request that the city please resurface the courts and
install permanent nets (like Foster City). When I play, I often see dozens of people waiting to play
pickleball while the tennis courts are empty. Since 16 people can play pickleball in the same space
that four (and usually only two) people can play tennis, it seems like a much more effective use of
the space to convert one more tennis court to pickleball. Thank you for your consideration."
Susan Alves -Rankin: "I am a San Mateo County resident and frequent user of the pickleball courts
in Washington Park. Pickleball has provided me and so many others with great opportunities to
meet people of all ages in the community while getting sunshine and exercise. As the pickleball
community has grown, the courts have become overcrowded, the temporary nets have become
worn, and the cracks on the courts have made it harder to play safely. I request that the city please
resurface the courts and install permanent nets (like Foster City). Additionally, when I play (which
is 3 to 4 times per week), there are often dozens of people waiting to play pickleball while the
tennis courts are empty. Since 16 people can play pickleball in the same space that four (and
usually only two) people can play tennis, it seems like a much more effective use of the space to
convert one more tennis court to pickleball. Members of our group have spoken with other
communities regarding the cost of redoing their pickleball courts. Please feel free to discuss with
other members of our Burlingame Community for the cost estimates and cost-efficient strategies
that others have utilized. We do not need to remove the tennis net bars or posts as the tennis net
maintains good separation between the courts. Only the net needs to be replaced. It would be
ideal to have four permanent pickleball nets as they are sturdier than the current torn pickleball
nets, broken and bent bars, and wheels that serve as a tripping hazard. These portable nets were a
great initial idea but have not held up well to the constant use. The community needs this great
resource - please allow us all to continue playing. Thank you for your consideration."
Juanita Lucero: "I urge everyone to approve installing four permanent pickleball courts in tennis
court one at Washington Park. The cost to add four new posts should be addressed. I have spoken
to Richard Holtz and provided him contact information for the contractor in SF who installed six
permanent courts, where none existed for $120,000. Margaret told me the posts, including the
tennis courts' post removal would be approximately $120,000 or more. We do not need to remove
the tennis court posts. The two posts installed for the tennis net need to remain as the pickleball
courts need a barrier for balls at the center. The numbers do not make sense and should be
analyzed. The current center tennis net has holes, and the ball frequently goes through those holes,
so it should be replaced. I am baffled that in an affluent city like Burlingame, we have substandard
courts, which pale to other adjacent cities' courts for pickleball. The portable nets have jumbo
clips holding the center post, the bars supporting the base are bent, causing nets to not be aligned
at the top, the nets have holes, etc. Permanent nets would eliminate all of this by providing durable
nets with only a post at each end of the net, not bars on wheels that are a tripping hazard on the
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existing nets, and they would be professional and long lasting. It is so frustrating that there has
not been a professional approach to the pickleball situation. I play at other professional courts on
the Peninsula, but I live three minutes from Washington Park and my preference would be to play
there. Please sharpen your pencils and make this happen for Burlingame. Your residents deserve
this. Pickleball is unstoppable. It is exercise, community, and friendships. We have potlucks
outside tennis courts 1 with one picnic table, and 25+ attendees socializing, enjoying friendships,
and strengthening our community. In my opinion, pickleball players are overlooked and not
prioritized. Please change this. It is my understanding from Richard that the two bids received
are at approximately $50,000 for resurfacing the courts. The cost of adding four posts for
permanent pickleball courts should be addressed. It is unbelievable that the cost to add the four
(4) posts would be $100,000. Please thoroughly analyze the addition of permanent pickleball
courts and address the needs of pickleball players. End the debacle, add permanent pickleball
courts."
Corey Liu: "Thank you for informing me about the resurfacing of the tennis courts, I appreciate
for keeping me in tune of the situation. Here are a few pointers I want to make. 1. Tennis players
want the tennis court back currently being used as pickleball courts. This is a tennis court after
all. When the courts are being used for tennis classes, there are not enough courts for the public.
There is supposed to have one court open to the public at all times, currently, this is being violated.
2. The pickleball courts can be built at the bocce ball court area, which no one is playing bocce
ball at all. The area is wasted currently. 3. There are only 3 tennis courts but 4 pickleball courts,
how is that fair when this is supposed to be only tennis courts. 4. Pickleball courts can be built in
other parks in Burlingame, but not anymore on Washington Park tennis courts. Tennis players are
being fed up by this already. Thank you so much."
Michele and Bob Magni: "My husband and I have been playing pickleball for a little over a year
in Burlingame. We started at Burlingame Washington Park with Jan and are still playing in the
same place. We live in San Bruno, but come down to play in Burlingame 3 or 4 times a week.
We have a great group that plays together and we all feel the same that the city needs to support
our pickleball community as it is growing. Some people in our group come from Pacifica, San
Mateo, San Bruno, Oakland etc. We all like playing together. It's a great community, and just
think many of us frequent business' in Burlingame, so we are also bringing revenue to your city.
As you have probably heard that pickleball is a popular growing sport for all ages, and I mean all
ages. If you would come down to the courts sometime especially on a Monday/Wednesday or
Friday, you will see the courts being used by many. People also use them on the weekends and
some nights. It is very popular among people in their 50's, 60's and older. We have one court that
was a tennis court and has been lined for pickleball, which makes into 4 pickleball courts. This
court is in very bad shape. Many cracks, holes, dirty, and is getting very dangerous to play on. If
we could get Court #1 resurfaced, cracks gone, lined for just pickleball, permanent nets, a tennis
net for a barrier so the balls don't go into other courts, it could save a lot of people from getting
hurt. I don't understand why nobody has ever come down to talk to anyone at the pickleball court
and ask what we need or what we would like to see done. I myself have invited anyone to come
down and talk to the people at the court and see what we are talking about, but have never seen
anyone. Also, the tennis court next to us which I believe is court #2 is many times not being used
and it would be nice to have lined for pickleball so if nobody is on it playing tennis the over flow
or others could use it or pickleball. Of course, tennis would have first choice but if nobody is
playing tennis we could use it for pickleball instead of it just sitting empty. I have included some
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pictures of what the courts are looking like so you can see why we need this done. I really don't
think you want to see anyone getting hurt while playing because of the courts the way they are
because that could actually cost the city a good amount of money if something happened while
playing on courts that have not been fixed, and the city knows how bad they are. I know I would
hate to see this happen. In the end we just want it to be fair and safe for everyone to play and enjoy
being together and having fun and not worry about getting hurt. Thank you for listening, and I
really hope this can happen it's been put on the back burner for too long."
Jane Go: "As a 35-year resident of Burlingame, I am responding to the request for restriping tennis
courts for shared use with pickleball. I play both sports and have for many, many, many years. I
typically play tennis and pickleball at Washington Park on the tennis courts and basketball court.
According to the staff report, there are only three, non -shared tennis courts remaining in the entire
city. With only eight tennis courts total in Burlingame. It seems to me it would be great to keep
at least two courts for tennis only. Shared courts are a fine idea for both Pickleball and Tennis but
can be very confusing for the user. Please allow some tennis to remain only for tennis. (Note
Burlingame High School has also eliminated a complete tennis court for more portables reducing
the options for tennis players even more.) Can we at least save two tennis courts for tennis only?
Tennis has given up quite a bit to the popularity of pickleball. Pickleball is new and may be at its
peak and/or decline. Let's please keep tennis as a priority as it has been in the City for over 40
years. We should continue to maximize court usage but not at the complete elimination of all
existing stripped tennis facilities. Thank you for your consideration."
Gail Mosse: "Thank you to the Parks and Recreation commissioners and staff for continuing to
explore pickleball opportunities for our community. I am unsure if I can attend the meeting tonight
so am sending in written comments. I am sure you know pickleball is extremely popular and great
for our community's health and well-being. It has become so popular that I think the city should
do more to create pickleball opportunities. One small suggestion is to reserve tennis courts that
are not lined for pickleball before those tennis courts that are lined for pickleball. I mention this
because once at Ray Park friends and I discovered that a tennis lesson and equipment was set up
on the court with pickleball lines while the other tennis court (without pickleball lines) was empty.
My bigger suggestion is to convert Court 2 at Washington Park to 4 pickleball courts, just like
Court 1. There are many times now when I want to play pickleball at Washington Park and can't
do so because the queue to play is already very long. In contrast, I observe that often several or
all of the tennis courts 2-4 are empty. I would discourage you from making more pickleball at
other court locations instead of Washington Park because driving around Burlingame to find
opportunities to play pickleball is inefficient and often leads to disappointment (trust me, I have
tried!). I think it makes good sense to cluster pickleball opportunities together at Washington Park.
Thank you for considering these suggestions and your work for Burlingame, including our
pickleball community."
Dale Sutton: "Pickleball needs more dedicated courts with open play."
There being no further requests to speak, Pappajohn closed public comment.
Pappajohn asked if the Commission had any follow-up questions.
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Commissioner Yu asked if a court or two were reserved for tennis, and if you could still only have
one or two additional pickleball courts for any court that is relined. Acquisti confirmed this to be
the case due to the decreased amount of space available on courts 2-4 as opposed to court 1 which
had more space to allow for more pickleball courts on it. Glomstad asked Holtz if the
measurements on court 1 were different than the measurements on courts 2-4 — Holtz confirmed
they were different, that courts 2-4 are closer together than the surround of court 1, which has more
space.
Commissioner Holzman noted that since many of the comments heard tonight were talking about
the possibility of permanent courts, there seems to be a misunderstanding. She asked
Superintendent Holtz to provide information about the court conditions and the costs for permanent
courts. Holtz stated staff had heard input from pickleball players about the safety of the court. He
had been out on the court several times, four times in the last four months. The courts are useable
but not in ideal condition, but if staff determine they are unsafe, they would be closed. He had
contacted several resurfacing companies and had multiple conversations. The costs vary
depending on the type of work done, between $50,000 versus $200,00. His conversations did not
include adding permanent posts. Glomstad noted that a while ago, staff asked one of the companies
for a ballpark amount to install permanent pickleball courts on court one, resurface the rest of the
courts, and paint the lines, and it was $120,000.
Pappajohn heard from the public comment that if a tennis player comes to play, is there a place to
put the pickleball nets so that if someone is playing tennis, the pickleball net is not at the back of
the court. Acquisti confirmed there is space for this.
Wettan noted one email that was read that made an interesting point that pickleball courts are more
distributed around the city than tennis courts at this time. There seems to be a network effect
where people want to be together. He asked if the pickleball courts at Laguna and Ray are as
heavily used as Washington and would there be a benefit to putting a tennis -only option at one of
those locations so the concentration of pickleball can be mostly at Washington, where the
community seems to want to gather. Acquisti stated that the lights at Washington are the draw
since the other locations do not have lights. Laguna and Ray are utilized by both tennis and
pickleball. We have a very robust lesson program and are fighting for tennis courts, specifically
Ray and Laguna, after 2:30pm.
Milne mentioned that a couple of emails noted the existing portable or movable nets are damaged
or worn out. Holtz stated they had been vandalized. Staff had been dealing with vandalism
throughout the parks.
Holzman asked if staff thought the damage was from a faulty net system or vandalism. Holtz
confirmed it was vandalism. He noted there were other options for nets. However, it would not
surprise him that even permanent nets would still get vandalized. The current tennis nets are fairly
sturdy and are also vandalized from time to time.
Commissioner Brunello stated that when he had spoken with some of the pickleball users, they
said these cracks were a recent phenomenon in the last six to eight months. Holtz said that he
believed the cracks could be due to the significant wetness leading to soil heaving, although he
could not say why on that court more than the others, he could not say.
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Holzman stated would there be a benefit to looking at a different scope of work. Holtz noted the
work is going to cost $50,000 to do an overlay, and the cracks could reappear. The only way to
prevent cracking completely is to do a $200,000 petromat overlay, which is not in the budget.
Glomstad reiterated the current budget does not have funds for any court work. To improve the
playing surface staff are trying to pull other funds together, otherwise, staff could do more
community outreach next year and then request funds in a future budget.
Wettan asked if it was feasible to resurface courts 1 and 2 and leave 3 and 4 as is. Glomstad stated
it would look odd with the court color change. Holtz added that a petromat overlay raises the grade
significantly, so the posts need to be raised, which is part of the cost increase.
Wettan inquired if court 2 could be shifted so pickleball could be on one side and leave the other
two tennis courts alone. Holtz did not know what the appropriate clearances were between courts.
Ideally, if the fence were between courts two and three, there could be eight or then pickleball
courts and two dedicated tennis courts.
Wettan noted that while it would look terrible if work was limited to half of the courts, it could
help with the budget, give the tennis players the dedicated courts they want in the short term, and
allow
Wettan suggested perhaps leaving one court lined for tennis only to provide for the tennis players.
MOTION by Brunello to approve adding two pickleball court lines to courts two and three.
Motion seconded by Milne. Motion approved 6-0-1 (Chang absent).
MOTION by Holzman to approve changing the court colors to green facility with blue
tennis lines and bright blue pickleball lines. Motion seconded by Brunello. Motion
approved 6-0-1 (Chang absent).
c. Ad Hoc Committee for the Laguna Playground Renovation
Glomstad reported that Chair Pappajohn had appointed herself and Commissioner Yu to the Ad
Hoc Committee for the Laguna Playground committee. To date, a community survey has been
released to the Laguna area community, and it will go out city-wide with a request for volunteers
to apply, with a deadline of early September. The survey will be out until mid -November. The
first committee meeting will most likely be in mid -September or early October.
8. STAFF AND COMMISSIONER REPORTS
a. Parks & Recreation Department Reports
Acquisti reported that Burlingame on the Ave will be on August 19 and 20. The Chamber of
Commerce and DBID are hosting the Walk with Wine event on August 30 from 5 to 9 pm to raise
funds for lights in the trees on the Avenue and side streets. Movies in the Park are on August 28
and September 8, and the Family Campout is on September 22.
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b. Commissioners Reports
Commissioner Brunello — No Report
Commissioner Wettan — No Report
Commissioner Holzman — Reported that the Ad Hoc committee for public art had met to
establish continuity within the existing policy on public art throughout the community. This will
be going to the City Council.
Commissioner Yu — No Report
Commissioner Milne — The Burlingame Parks & Recreation Foundation is planning the Pickleball
Palooza on October 8 in Washington Park.
Commissioner Pappajohn— No Report
9. FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS
10. ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 8:32 pm.
The next meeting of the Parks & Recreation Commission is scheduled to be held in person on
Thursday, September 21, 2023, at 7:00 pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Joleen Helley
Recording Secretary
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