VOTING HAS NOW CLOSED, THANK YOU FOR YOUR PARTICIPATION!
All Creemore Tennis Club Members are invited to vote on whether to move the proposal below to the next stage of Clearview Township approval.
Voting no indicates that you do not wish for the Creemore Tennis Club to be involved in proposal to Clearview Township Council below.
Voting yes indicates that you would like Clearview Township Council to include the Creemore Tennis Club in the proposal to develop the arena lands to include a new home and courts for Creemore Tennis Club.
Disclaimer: Voting yes does not guarantee the proposal will be accepted by Clearview Township Council, nor that the club will move location. It merely allows the Township to consider inclusion of the Tennis Club in these development plans. The decision of Clearview Township Council to approve the proposal, approve a site plan, and extend the budget to include Creemore Tennis Club is strictly the domain of the Council.
Voting instructions follow the Proposal below.
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Proposal offered by Clearview Director of Recreation, Terry Vachon, to the Creemore Tennis Club.
March 2025
Clearview Director of Recreation, Terry Vachon, invited representatives of CTC to join him and others to discuss the funding allocation by Clearview Council, of $100,000, for the construction of new pickleball courts. A loosely organized group of about 8-10 people, headed by a local resident Mike Schmidt, have lobbied quite successfully to Council for this funding, with what appears to be solid support from local Clearview Councillor Mr. McArthur.
Through the course of the discussion in this meeting, in December 2024, there was an invitation to consider a tennis/paddle location on township property west of the arena, utilizing the concrete pad for what is now the skateboard park. This idea seems in part driven by the recognition that the skateboard park is not used a lot in its current location, but could be much more popular if it was located in the centre of the village. Hence the idea of moving our club courts to join with the pickleball courts in this new location.
We have committed to the Terry Vachon to consider the proposal, as there are some compelling arguments to move our club there. There are some very good reasons too, for staying in Gowan park.
Here are some details that can be useful in weighing the merits of this plan:
1. There will be room for the addition of a new court or two, if the demand on the existing courts exceeds capacity. Projected growth in the village, with people moving here for lifestyle options, and pressure on the courts, can be anticipated. Currently, the club has about 150 members and other than weekends, there is very little pressure on the courts for playing time.
2. There are expansion plans in the new location for a bathroom, a lounging area and a small storage building. These may not be part of the initial construction plan but phased in over time.
3. Perhaps the most important reason is that new courts mean that CTC will no longer need to budget for court resurfacing at the Gowan Park location. Our courts need a resurface now but the best estimate we have received is in the neighbourhood of $30,000. Terry Vachon has emphasized many times that there is no budget line for court maintenance. It appears though that we may be able to negotiate for this if we stay in Gowan park. However, he can make no commitment to that.
4. The sitting room area creates the potential for a social area where pickleball and tennis players can be part of a racquet/paddle community.
5. We have a two structurally sound courts in a beautiful well treed location, relatively free from high winds, in Gowan park. We may be able to “acquire” the old decommissioned washrooms, which are adjacent to the courts, for storage. Thinking creatively, it is possible they could become usable for washrooms/club house but this is only a conjecture.
6. Pickleball is a noisy game. Do we want to be adjacent to 4 busy pickleball courts? With the popularity of this game, it is likely to be well used.
7. If we move to the courts, do we compromise some of the autonomy that we have now? This may be more imagined than real. The township has no interest in being involved in the organization of these sites, so each group organizing their own activities is a priority for the township.
8. There are no trees in the new site, nor cedar hedge, serving as a wind screen. That hedge has taken about 15 years to become useful.
Other points to consider:
• There is $100,000 allocated and it is quite possible that, pending additional funds being approved by council, that the pickleball courts will be built this year. If we did agree to move our location then it is likely somewhere down the road that the tennis courts will be built. The real amount required for this total undertaking surpasses this budget, even with the logistical support of the township and their access to local contractors and heavy equipment.
• There was discussion about an agreement with CTC regarding our mutual obligations to each other. It should not be precluded that Clearview will not contribute to our current courts resurfacing. Councillor McArthur was there and he asked for clarification, so that he had heard the amount correctly, what the cost would be to do the resurfacing.
• We emphasized that there needs to be a vote by the membership on this proposal, and this could take at least a few weeks after the AGM. The Recreation department would like to present the entire proposal to Council by April 28th, and is requesting our decision on the move by April 21st.
• We have had a conversation with Chris and Robert Barnard, who were the driving force in fundraising for $60,000 in 2005 to construct the courts in their current location. The courts are named in honour of their father, Peter Barnard, who was an elite tennis player and resident of Creemore for many years.
• It is mildly ironic, that the old tennis courts were located close to where the new courts are proposed to go. The club has been in existence since the 1970’s and that was where many games of tennis were played and enjoyed.
• The pickleball group has no interest in a shared organizational structure with the tennis club. They want to be “public” courts.
• In terms of a construction timetable, the pickleball courts will be built this year. At least that is the plan. No estimates have been received on the cost yet.
• It must be noted that this entire initiative is in the planning stage, with no commitments made, or Council approval, for anything other than the pickleball courts.
Voting Instructions:
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