Piney Wood
We have it on good understanding that the following items are true even though they're not yet officially detailed on the Durham City Council's website.
At the last Work Session council members approved the additional funding needed to complete the work at Piney Wood.
The plan is to bundle the Piney funding request into a single agenda item with other requests for which there are also no objections.
This bundled agenda item will be voted on at the June 5 Council Meeting.
Council is expected to approve the entire bundle at that time.
Additionally (and In case you need a stronger positive indicator), Durham Parks and Recreation has begun coordinating with DAPP to plan both a Piney Grand Opening Party and an Inaugural Tournament.
This is happening. :-)
When the City Council June 5 meeting agenda comes out later this week I"ll be back in touch with instructions about how to fill out the form to submit a written comment showing your support. Meantime, bask in the glow of a job well done, and thanks to everyone who pitched in to support this cause.
Where do the donations live?
Most of the money we've raised lives in an account at the Durham Parks Foundation that's specifically dedicated to the Piney Wood Pickleball courts. Getting money out of this account requires signatures from DPR folks and from the DAPP Steering Committee.
A smaller portion of the money raised is being held in DAPP's checking account. This includes (at least for now) the donations to the Piney GoFundMe. Spending from this DAPP account requires permission from the Steering Committee. Our financial reports are publicly available on the Financial Reports page.
How will the money be spent?
This money will be spent on the Piney Wood Pickleball Courts. We're hoping that DPR will get full funding to pay for court construction as specified by the actual contract. If not, our first priority is to chip in to make that happen.
There are two categories of items we'd like that are NOT included in the contract.
Things that must be done during construction.
It would be great to have a) permanent dividers between at least some of the courts and b) many gates in the outer fence. These multi-thousand dollar items are not included in the contract, and it's possible that we can get them if we ante up.
Things that can be added later.
Shade, benches, windscreens, temporary court dividers (if we don't get permanent ones), etc (really, everything that makes a pickleball house a home.) These things can happen over time.
Who decides on priorities?
You. According to our bylaws, if you are on the DAPP mailing list you are a voting member of Durham Area Pickleball Players. We'll do some survey-like thing to figure out what everyone wants and spend the money accordingly.
The Piney Wood Dream
Twelve brand, spankin' new, permanent pickleball courts in Durham.
A hub for community activity and a drawing card for regional tournaments.
A place for all of Durham to mingle, bond, and play pickleball.
Help us keep the dream alive!
Previous Updates
Upcoming City Council Work Session
Good news! Agenda item #19 at the Thursday, May 18 City Council Work Session requests approval for additional funding of the Piney Wood Courts.
I (your humble Ms DAPP President Sandi) plan to attend this Work Session to tender your thanks to the Council for their consideration of this item, and to urge them to support the project when it appears on the Council's meeting agenda.
The official Agenda Memo for the Working Session lists a request from the General Services Department to the City Council, asking that the Council approve an additional $269,383 for this project ($183k to do a 'full depth reclamation' or FDR of the existing courts, and $86k for new fencing that's needed because of the FDR).
This means that General Services has found the money to finish the renovation of Piney Wood. The next step is for the Council to approve spending it.
If funding is approved the 'date of substantial completion' is projected to be October, 12, 2023.
My understanding is that there's no need for you to join me on Thursday. The funding request will percolate up to an evening council meeting in the near future, at which time we can submit written comments urging the Council to vote yes. I'll send details about how to submit comments to the DAPP mailing list, and also post them here.
City Council Work Session:
Four DAPP folks attended the City Council work session on Thursday, May 4, 2023, and three of us signed up to speak under the agenda item 'Community Matters'. The Council was surprisingly attentive as we described the growth and benefits of pickleball, brought the construction difficulties at Piney to their attention, and asked that they support having the city add funding to this project.
My (Ms DAPP President Sandi's) understanding is that a full funding request is working it's way through the proper channels at the city. I'll post updates here and in a DAPP mailing as I get more details about the status of this funding request, and about how we can encourage the city to support it.
Bull City Open (BCO) Fundraiser:
The Bull City Open completed on Sunday, May 7.
113 folks registered, gross receipts +$8.475, PayPal -$351.43, PickleballDen -$452+$3.11, towels -$760.59, medals -$471.88, snacks and water -$115.48.
The net was $6,320.51. We'll donate 50% of this ($3,160.26) to the Durham Parks Foundation Piney Wood account during the week of May 15th, via one of those extremely large checks. We'll do this in person at Durham Parks and Rec in an attempt to further raise awareness about the Piney Wood project.
Piney Wood GoFundMe:
As of today, the GoFundMe has raised $3,875 via donations from 34 generous folks. A few folks have also contacted us about donating directly to the Durham Parks Foundation. I'm hoping those donations have occurred, but don't have details about amounts yet.
The current GoFundMe plus three years of BCO tournament donations adds up to nearly $25,000 raised by the community for Piney over the last three years. It's a convincing illustration of our commitment.
April 17, 2023
Message from Durham Parks and Recreation Department:
Update on Pickleball Facility as of April 17, 2023:
A pre-construction meeting was held with the contractor for the Piney Wood Pickleball Court project. While assessing the strength of the existing asphalt it became evident that it will not hold up to heavy equipment needed to overlay new surfacing. It was determined that instead of asphalt overlay, the full depth of the courts will need to be reclaimed and stabilized, and new surface added.
The northern half of the courts was taped off with caution tape by the contractor, to alert potential players of the cracking and uneven playing surface. GSD and DPR are working to move forward as soon as possible.
Lighting Update is the same as of April 17, 2023:
MUSCO is upgrading the lighting panel for Piney Wood Park on the soccer and pickleball side at Piney Wood Park. During the month of June 2023, the soccer fields lights will not be operational in order for the panels to be upgraded. This upgrade is necessary in order to add the lights to Piney Wood Pickleball courts.
Please call Durham Parks and Recreation Department at 919-560-4355 if you have additional questions.