Good afternoon Pickleball Community!

I apologize for sending out another email so soon after the last one, but I needed to get some information to you.

I received some info from Mark Seaman (Director of the City of Hickory Parks, Recreation, and Sports Tourism) this afternoon and wanted to pass that along to you because part of what he said requires some help on your part.

He said that some people have come to repair the net posts on courts 2 and 3 at Westmont and people have been playing on the courts each time they came by so they didn't come down to repair them.  The net posts on these two courts are about an inch too low so they are going to repair them so they are 36" tall like they are supposed to be.

Here is where I need your help:  they are supposed to come back and repair them at some point (I have no clue when).  When they do come back, I've asked Mark to tell them to come down to the courts and let whoever is playing know that they are there to repair the posts.  If you are on the courts at that time, if you will, please pause your playing until they can complete the repairs on the net posts.  I'm not sure if you moving over and playing on courts 4-6 would bother them as they repaired the net posts or not.  I know it will be an inconvenience, but it needs to happen if we want to get those posts up to regulation height.  I appreciate your help with this!

Mark also let me know the following:
- I know a couple players have mentioned possible businesses they want to approach to see if they will sponsor the windscreens for Westmont...Mark said he is working on getting a quote on those windscreens so as soon as I get an amount from him I'll let you know.
- He sent in a second request to get the fence behind court 1 as well as the gates fixed at Westmont.
- He is checking to see what may have caused the small holes on courts 3 and 4 at Westmont and what can be done to repair them, if anything
- He is asking the people who resurfaced the courts about the dead spots (I know there is a big one on the tennis net side of court 1) at Westmont
- I asked him (and sent him pictures) about the cracks at Taft Broome (and cracks in general), he asked the people who resurfaced the courts, and this is the response he received: "Mark, these cracks are new cracking that courts get in the winter. Asphalt is always expanding and contracting, expanding during warm weather and contracting in the colder months, which causes the cracking. Generally what communities usually do is wait out the 5 years until their courts need to be resurfaced again before having the cracks patched. Other communities have the budget to have the new cracking patched every year or 2 while still saving for their resurfacing (crack patching and new paint) for year 5. Newer courts should have less cracking than older courts but if that is the majority of the cracking at Ridgeview over the winter than I would say those courts are in pretty good shape. After next winter you will have new cracks plus continuations of this winter’s cracking until they are patched or covered with a crack repair system and even then you will get new cracking in other spots (and on it keeps going for the life of the asphalt pad). I would say leave them alone until it’s time to resurface the courts unless the cracks are getting too out of hand, causing bad bounces or becoming a trip hazard."

If any new players ask you about pickleball in our area make sure to tell them to check out the website, it's basically got everything they need to know about pickleball in our area: www.foothillspickleball.com

Again, I just wanted to update you on everything I found out today and ask for your help when they come to repair some of the problems at Westmont.

Thank you! Have a fantastic Friday and an amazing weekend!