Wilmette’s first paddle tennis hearing Monday

Updated: June 15, 2012 6:14PM

Wilmette residents can learn more about the Wilmette Park District’s paddle tennis proposal Monday, during a public hearing set for 7 p.m. at the Community Recreation Center, 3000 Glenview Rd.

It is the first of two such hearings park district officials have scheduled to publicize the project and get public reactions to it. The second is set for 7 p.m. June 25 at Wilmette Village Hall, 1200 Wilmette Ave.

Paddle tennis, which can be played year round in enclosed and heated outdoor courts, has grown in popularity and the park board is considering building four lighted courts and a warming hut near the existing parking lot at the south end of West Park, at an estimated cost of $1.2 million.

In late 2009 and early 2010 it surveyed residents about paddle tennis. More than 68 percent of the 800 respondents indicated they’d support a paddle tennis operation in Wilmette, park officials said.

After deciding earlier this year to hold hearings, the district sent out 150 letters about the project and the hearings to residents near West Park, which sits at Lake and Laramie avenues in west Wilmette. The board’s parks and recreation committee recommended West Park as a cost-effective site with easy access to utilities and room for parking.

The district also emailed word of the hearings to about 7,000 Wilmette households on its database, Director Steve Wilson said June 11.

“We’re doing our best to publicize these hearings. We’ve gotten emails with comments on all sides of the fence,” Wilson said.

A copy of the districts 2010 paddle tennis report is available for viewing at www.wilmettepark.org.

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