LaSalle keeps exclusive court agreement with pickleball association

A LaSalle resident has raised concerns about financial implications of maintaining low cost reservations for a local pickleball club on municipal courts.

The Town of LaSalle will continue giving exclusive use of three pickleball courts to a local user group.

Town council voted Tuesday night to continue allowing the LaSalle Pickleball Association to exclusively use half the courts on Front Road Park during certain periods throughout the week.

Piloting the concept for the past year, town staff noted the agreement allowed for organized play while continuing to provide space for the public to use.

Speaking to council, Simon Jacques, a town resident, urged council to raise the user fee.

“I found based on my market research that the closest competitor is based in Windsor, and they charge $60 an hour for a court,” Jacques told CTV News after the meeting. “So I said I think the there’s a huge gap.”

The association is charged a Capitol Reinvestment Fee of $6.10 per hour, according to a town report. Over the course of the outdoor season, the agreement will create $1,200 in revenue.

Once new courts at the Vollmer Complex, estimated to cost $2.8 million, are completed, the pickleball association will transition programming.

“So I’m just concerned that for the betterment of the taxpayer, that we spend a little bit too much and we don’t price adequately,” Jacques said.

Council decided to maintain the agreement without modifying the cost to the pickleball association.

After the meeting, Michael Akpata, the town’s deputy mayor, said they must weigh more than simply the financial benefit.

“They’re doing free training for our seniors. They’re making sure that our courts are used and they are giving back to the community,” Akpata said. “So there are some things that you can’t directly assess dollar values to. From our perspective, we’re doing the right thing in our community, ensuring that the courts are used and that more and more people are being brought into engaging in pickleball.”

Once the new courts are completed, Akpata said it will be up to that term of council to decide whether or not to keep the same agreement.