Dear Mayor and Aldermen,
I first want to strongly support the community center proposal for phase I of Westside Regional Park (WSRP) development. There is a clear and demonstrated need for the community that this center simply addresses. However, the overall plan lacks presentation of hard data and clear justifications for the complex set of recommendations made.
For example, I am very disappointed in the lack of any credible or concrete plans for pickleball in WSRP. The report contains an optional future 16M public-private partnership when a few million dollar effort would more simply address clearly documented pickleball needs. No where does the plan presented address our 1400 signature petition proposal for twice as many courts in a complex (https://www.change.org/Pickleball4Frederick).
The lack of addressing the public pickleball petition in the plan put forward to Mayor O’Conner and the Aldermen, fails my expectations of thoroughness as a city resident. Additionally, we have had minimal feedback from anyone in city government on a well-reasoned, affordable and very timely pickleball petition proposal. Yet today we see the six courts at Monocacy Village oversubscribed daily. Indeed, the courts are so valuable that Parks and Recreation is running a league there on Sunday afternoon and evening. The lack of a vision in the WSRP plan for pickleball is quite evident and fails to meet significant constituent and community needs and expectations.
If the WSRP plan is adopted as presented, a significant and relatively inexpensive pickleball economic development and community opportunity will simply be missed.
Michael Smith
Downtown
Frederick, MD
Dear Mayor and Aldermen,
I first want to strongly support the community center proposal for phase I of Westside Regional Park (WSRP) development. There is a clear and demonstrated need for the community that this center simply addresses. However, the overall plan lacks presentation of hard data and clear justifications for the complex set of recommendations made.
For example, I am very disappointed in the lack of any credible or concrete plans for pickleball in WSRP. The report contains an optional future 16M public-private partnership when a few million dollar effort would more simply address clearly documented pickleball needs. No where does the plan presented address our 1400 signature petition proposal for twice as many courts in a complex (https://www.change.org/Pickleball4Frederick).
The lack of addressing the public pickleball petition in the plan put forward to Mayor O’Conner and the Aldermen, fails my expectations of thoroughness as a city resident. Additionally, we have had minimal feedback from anyone in city government on a well-reasoned, affordable and very timely pickleball petition proposal. Yet today we see the six courts at Monocacy Village oversubscribed daily. Indeed, the courts are so valuable that Parks and Recreation is running a league there on Sunday afternoon and evening. The lack of a vision in the WSRP plan for pickleball is quite evident and fails to meet significant constituent and community needs and expectations.
If the WSRP plan is adopted as presented, a significant and relatively inexpensive pickleball economic development and community opportunity will simply be missed.
Sincerely,
Michael Smith