A contract with Keleher Architects for the design of pickleball courts got the OK from the City Council on Monday, advancing a long awaited project approved by voters in the 2020 General Obligation Bond Election.
The $29,500 contract includes a design for six courts with a bid alternate to add two additional courts. The courts, which are expected to cost $459,000 to construct, will be located north of the tennis courts in Sooner Park.
“The original plan was to modify the tennis courts in Johnstone Park, and that was based on coordinating efforts with Kumar Krishnan, who has spear-headed this project from the beginning and first approached the City Council about including pickleball courts in the 2020 General Obligation Bond Election line-up,” said Director of Engineering Micah Siemers.
“However, after looking at other potential locations, we’ve identified the area north of the tennis courts in Sooner Park as a better location for the courts. Parking and restroom facilities are readily available there, and the more we looked at modifying the courts at Johnstone Park with an enclosure or cover, the more we realized it wasn’t a very good fit. Also, using the Sooner Park location, we have the ability to add more courts in the future and to install other amenities, such as shade structures and an area for people who are waiting to play.”
Design on the project should wrap up by June, with construction expected to start this summer.
Park roads, parking lots
In other business, the council approved a $106,250 contract with BKL for design services on the Park Roads and Parking Lots project. The voter-approved, $1,180,000 project includes improvements to the parking lots and roads at Johnstone, Sooner, Jo Allyn Lowe, and Lyon parks.
The projects have been combined to form a single engineering project. Combined, the 2020 G.O. Bond allocated $822,000 for the design and rehabilitation of the park roads and parking lots, and an additional $358,000 was approved as part of the 2018 G.O. Bond for parking improvements in Johnstone Park and was issued as part of the 2021A Bond Issuance, which will be used to supplement the project budget.
The design on the combined projects is expected to take several months, with construction anticipated later in the year.