More pickleball courts could be popping up across Chatham-Kent, thanks to some provincial funding announced late last week.
Local officials applied for the funding through the Ontario Trillium Foundation Community Building Fund for sports and recreation facilities with the hope of creating up to 10 pickleball courts.
The $430,000 in funding would cover about 80% of construction.
However, since the grant still requires some municipal contributions for the remaining capital costs as well as operational and lifecycle funding, the issue will be passed on to council to discuss during upcoming budget deliberations.
Gord Quinton, Chatham-Kent’s General Manager of Finance and Budget said the timing of the approval means the project wasn’t included in the initial budget estimations.
“The grant does require the Municipality to contribute a portion of the capital costs and continued operational and lifecycle costs. Council will be presented with this new request when they begin 2022 Budget deliberations on January 26,” he said.
Mayor Darrin Canniff also noted that the funding announcement was welcome, however, as in all cases, council will have to examine the full impact of proceeding with the project.
“Senior government funding allows municipalities to undertake projects that they might not otherwise be able to consider,” he said. “In the end, council will make its decision based on the greatest good to the community and our ability to pay for our portion.”