ALTON - If the Alton City Council approves it at tonight's meeting, as much as $50,000 in grant money and nearly $30,000 in privately raised funds could join forces to improve the tennis courts at Gordon Moore Park.
Alton Parks and Recreation Director Michael Haynes said he was "pretty confident" the $50,000 in grants from Metro East Parks and Recreation would be approved for usage in repairing the courts, which he said have needed repairs for years. That $50,000 would be combined with $25,300 raised by the Simpson Memorial Tennis Program through its online fundraising.
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According to its website, the Simpson Memorial Tennis Program's goal was originally a full $50,000 with the assurance the city would match the donation dollar-for-dollar. While they have yet to reach that impressive sum, Haynes said the grants combined with their fundraising may be enough to repair all eight courts for a cost of just over $70,000.
Estimated cost, according to the Simpson Memorial Tennis Program, is as much as $100,000, which it claims is based on proposals provided by McConnell, Pro-Track and Sport Court. All eight courts were examined in person by contractors and were "deemed fixable." Also, the repairs would be guaranteed for as long as a decade, and promise not to show lines and cracks where courts have been treated.
The website also features a plan regarding repairs, which are set to begin on June 1, 2017. The website said the courts would be playable by July 4, 2017. Haynes seconded that ambitious timing, saying work could be completed in as little as a few weeks - if the weather cooperated. That works includes: stripping existing surfaces, filling cracks, covering cracks with geotextile fabric and leveling, resurfacing and repainting courts.
One repairs have been completed, the city is recommended to budget as much as $11,000 a year to resurface the eight courts every five years. If that maintenance is kept regular, the courts should show no cracks "for many years with regular resurfacing."
The courts were constructed in 1991, and the last time they were resurfaced was 2006. Since then, however, the surface has cracked and begun to flake. According to the Simpson Memorial Tennis Court Program, the courts are now not usable for higher-level competition and present both a slipping and tripping hazard. Those cracks will only get worse as water enters them as well.
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