The city will not be sharing the bill with the Salmon Arm Pickleball Club for repair work done for the 55+ BC Games.
In a letter to council, club president Mike Joyce explains how before the Games, held Sept. 10-14 in Salmon Arm, the club discussed with Darin Gerow, the city's roads and parks manager and Shuswap Recreation Society's operations manager, the entrance to the Klahani Park pickleball courts and the "need for improvement" before the Games started.
"Mr. Gerow's reply was there was money in the budget to make the repairs," wrote Joyce. "We then made arrangements that the pickleball club would pay the $1,490 to make the repair."
Joyce offered several reasons why the repair was needed, explaining a number of players had tripped going into play "and we were concerned that someone would be injured;" that 350 would be taking part in the games and that the possibility of injury would be high;" the court entrance was in terrible shape; and "having both entrances to the courts repaired also removed the possibility of a lawsuit against the city…"
Joyce said the club recognizes and appreciates that the city spent a "large amount of money on upgrading the courts," and requested the city refund half the repair cost.
Coun. Debbie Cannon, who was president of the Salmon Arm Games' Host Organizing Committee, recommended against council supporting the request.
"When I look at this letter, knowing full well how much Darin Gerow… worked with the pickleball group on that facility in Klahani – it was constant," said Cannon at the Oct. 28 council meeting. "Plus, at our budget time we put a lot of money towards resurfacing and paint on those pickleball courts…"
Cannon said she thought the groups and facilities that hosted the Games "had to take a little bit of ownership in hosting, and I wouldn’t support this at this time."
