Simsbury In a Pickle Over Pickleball Courts

SIMSBURY, CT — The town's recreation department is in a pickle ... make that a pickleball pickle regarding a planned expansion this year of pickleball court offerings.

And, as a result, local officials say they will have to postpone plans to add pickleball courts at Tariffville Park this season.

The situation came out of the Simsbury Board of Selectmen's budget workshop meeting March 11, as Simsbury Culture, Parks and Recreation Director Tom Tyburski spoke before selectmen to discuss budgetary requests for next fiscal year.

During those talks, the pickleball pickle came about.

Pickleball is the popular variant of tennis that is played on a smaller court using specially-made paddles for the sport as opposed to a tennis racquet.

Its popularity is increasing as the game is seen as good exercise for those less athletically inclined but still seeking a vigorous workout, nonetheless.

But, according to Simsbury First Selectman Wendy Mackstutis, plans to expand Tariffville Park's pickleball offerings have hit a roadblock, at least for this year.

That's because current Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) flood maps place the proposed location in the park — located at Simsbury's Main Street extension in Tariffville — directly in a floodway.

It means, according to Mackstutis, the town cannot build pickleball courts where it wants to, for now.

The town is waiting for FEMA to update its flood maps this year, she said in a report to selectmen earlier this week.

"We've been saying that we would have them, potentially, next spring but chances are fairly nil that that's going to happen," Mackstutis said.

David W. Bush, the chairman of the Simsbury Culture, Parks and Recreation Commission, said FEMA's latest updates likely will place the pickleball site out of a flood plain.

Once those maps are done, then Simsbury can proceed.

"Unfortunately, we're waiting for the federal government," Bush said at Saturday's budget workshop. "It really looks promising that its going to be next year."

He said if the town forged on trying to build before the maps come out, then it would have to spend $50,000 to $60,000 on hydraulic studies, making the delay a more fiscally prudent move.

To compensate for the pickleball pickle, Tyburski said he's adding stripes at the tennis courts at Simsbury Farms Park at 100 Old Farms Road to give pickleball players more places to play.

Tyburski said the flood mapping issue is, actually, impacting other proposed projects at Tarriffville Park.

"We're in a holding pattern, as you know, about the flood mapping there," Tyburski said before selectmen at the March 10 workshop. "As soon as that gets settled we'll be having pickleball courts, a new playground, a new pavilion over there."

"It was kind of a kick in the teeth to get that bad news, but in the long term, we'll have picklball courts," Tyburski said later in the meeting. "It's just we have to be a little more patient."

For more information on Tarriffville Park, click on this link.

For more information on Simsbury Farms Park, click on this link.