Folsom residents make voices heard: They want basketball and pickleball at Lembi Park

If Lembi Park users in Folsom get their way, basketball and pickleball will not only continue to co-exist but also enjoy a much-needed glow-up. A proposed $1.6 million dollar plan embraced by Folsom residents and presented by Parks and Recreation city staff at a recent meeting would keep both basketball and pickleball alive and well in Lembi Park. This comes after some earlier controversy and concern in the community that the city would replace Lembi Park's one aging basketball court with new pickleball courts. But after a wave of public comments in support of keeping basketball at the park and a public meeting, an amicable solution is on the table. In April, the Folsom Pickleball Club approached Mayor Justin Raithel and city staff about its need for more courts in Lembi Park. Club members noted the poor condition of the aging basketball court and presented an idea to convert the basketball court, which is in dire need of repairs, into four pickleball courts. Duane Chinnow, president of the Folsom Pickleball Club, said pickleball is the fastest growing sport in the country, and Folsom is seeing its popularity explode, with excessive wait times for courts. "We're interested in expanding because we are getting pressured," said Chinnow. "We're exceeding capacity by 90 percent every evening during the weekdays and 70-80 percent in the mornings. And so we're under constant pressure." Raithel said he met with a corporate sponsor earlier this year about helping to fund a pickleball expansion at Lembi Park, along with a new restroom. "They were looking for different project ideas and they said, 'Oh, we love this idea, we would get behind it,' and get behind not only the court but also a restroom there," said Raithel. While details of such a sponsorship are still in the planning phase, Raithel said it would likely pay for about three-quarters of the bill. The basketball court, meanwhile, has cracks and deep signs of wear and tear, including one large fissure down the center of the court. Some park goers noted that the court also didn't appear to have a lot of use lately. But regular basketball players like Hayden Waddell say the court still has strong relevance in the community. "This is definitely my place where I come to play," said Waddell. "It's super convenient, it's just a few minutes from my house and this is really the only nice court with working lights on this side of town that I've found." Waddell said he comes to the Lembi Park court three to four times per week and noted that he has several friends who do as well. He said they would rather see their neighborhood court fixed rather than replaced by pickleball. "We have the right to have our sport here too; I think everybody deserves to play their sport at this park," explained Waddell. "The cracks, there are some that are pretty bad, you can actually roll your ankle so that's an unfortunate reality so it would be nice to have some money to invest into the basketball court rather than turning it into something else with that money." Chinnow acknowledged the desires of basketball players to keep the longtime court at their neighborhood park are legitimate. "It's not a basketball versus pickleball thing, it's a how-can-we-make-everybody-happy," said Chinnow. "What we saw, and this is no slight on the basketball community, is that the court just wasn't being used. And it's in bad disrepair. It's probably not safe to use at this point. And so I'm sure they're saying, 'If there's money out there that can be used for development for pickleball, why can't we funnel some of that into basketball?' And that makes sense. Absolutely. So I'm hoping to see a solution presented that says everyone wins." Raithel also wants to see a scenario where everyone wins, though the reality is Lembi's basketball court is not the only one in the city that is in desperate need of repairs and maintenance. "Unfortunately the situation we're in, we just can't afford to fix all these things up to the level they should be," said Raithel. "I hate to say it but sometimes we're going to have to choose the option that gets used a lot more or saves money in the long run so we can keep some of our things in really nice shape. Because we see how it goes where we try to keep everything up, and it's not working." He continued, "Where I see us going (with Lembi) is we want a win-win. That might look like basketball gets fixed up there and pickleball gets expanded - that would be great if we could figure out the finances behind it." On the heels of a public meeting about the Lembi Park topic, city staff put up a sign near the basketball court notifying the public that officials were considering a plan to replace it with more pickleball courts. The problem, Raithel said, is the sign didn't adequately explain the overall vision, which prompted angry residents to email the city with their opposition. "It escalated shockingly and I'm like, well you put a sign up at a basketball court saying you're going to take it out, of course you're going to get emails that are mad," said Raithel. "When I went and talked to people both at the basketball and pickleball court, after I sat and talked to them for about five minutes about what the vision was and what it would consist of, people were like, 'Oh I'm on board now.' They just needed a little more information." On Sept. 17 residents packed a community meeting at Folsom City Hall with Raithel and city staff present to discuss options for Lembi Park. During the meeting, community members expressed their impassioned opinions, with some discussing the need for more pickleball courts and others saying they want to preserve the multi-sport legacy of Lembi Park. One man said he has enjoyed taking his grandchildren to the basketball court over the years. Staff presented three potential plans, with each one offering different approaches to adding pickleball courts to Lembi Park. *Plan A calls for adding four pickleball courts and removing basketball. *Plan B calls for adding two pickleball courts, a restroom, and resurfacing the basketball court. *Plan C calls for adding four pickleball courts near the existing ones, adding a restroom and resurfacing the basketball court. At the end of the meeting, those present were asked to vote for their choice between the three options; unanimously the crowd chose Plan C. A city spokesperson told The Folsom Telegraph that that plan is projected to cost $1.6 million and would be funded with $400,000 in Park Impact Fees, $700,000 from a corporate sponsor, and $500,000 in savings from Parks & Recreation capital projects budget. City staff will now evaluate the input they received, confirm project costs and funding and return with a formal recommendation expected to be presented to the Parks & Recreation Commission on Nov. 3.