CEDAR CITY — Public pickleball courts are coming to Cedar City after council members approved a local company’s bid.
The Cedar City Council accepted a bid from PRT Builders to construct pickleball courts at Bicentennial Park, located at 660 W. 1045 North.
According to information included in the council packet, six companies submitted bids, with PRT Builders coming in lowest at just over $623,268 for the courts, plus $60,950 for a lighting system. The budget for the project is approximately $919,000.
PTR Builders is a local company with a current city business license, Jonathan Stathis, the senior city engineer, said at the Jan. 4 council meeting.
“They’re very excited about the project, and I think they’ll do a good job,” he said.
Other items were bid on separately, like landscaping, benches and a shade structure, but the city’s Park and Recreation Department will complete any necessary additions in-house, Stathis said.
Councilmember Ron Riddle expressed concern about the time commitment required of the parks and recreation staff to complete the tasks in addition to their regular duties.
“Are we going to overwhelm our parks and rec?” he said.
Because the project will require a drip system for the planned trees and shrubs, Leisure Services Director Ken Nielson said it’s better for staff to install it so they will know what they’re “dealing with.”
Additionally, benches have been donated for previous projects, such as the Cross Hollow Trail, and two individuals have approached the city to donate to the pickleball court project as well, Nielson said.
“So I don’t stress about those items,” he said.
The bid for the pickleball court, plus the lighting system was accepted 4-1, with Councilmember Tyler Melling voting nay.
Melling said he appreciated that the city was able to “get the cost down” and supported “spending the people’s money on amenities when it’s an amenity that’s free and available to the public.”
But, when the subject first came up, he was under the impression that a project would cost under $200,000 for the courts.
“It’s not that this is an unworthy cause, but for the money, I think there’s a lot of other things on the list that we could knock out,” he said.
While the city hasn’t met with the contractor to set up an exact timeline, the latest completion date was set in the bid for June, 23, Stathis told Cedar City News, adding that city staff members are excited about the project.
“We know it’s going to be a great benefit to the community and provide recreation opportunities for everyone in the community, he said. “So, it’s an exciting time for Cedar City.”
The Jan. 4 discussion can be found on the Cedar City Council’s YouTube page here. To watch the Jan. 11 discussion, click here.
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