Politics & Government

Borough Council Approves Proposal to Repair Tennis Courts Complex

The Community Activities Department's $30K project will replace the existing tennis court canopy and allow for other improvements.

New Providence Borough Council is in support of a $30K project proposal from the borough’s Community Activities Department.

Councilman Alan Lesnewich, the department liaison, said that money is already available in the department’s budget, which would cover the costs to replace the deteriorating canopy, a new 45-foot-by-14-foot concrete slab, 40 ft. of new sidewalk, and improve drainage along the sidewalk.

“What’s there now is basically dilapidated plywood that is just a massive safety issue,” Lesnewich said at the council meeting Monday night.

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The 12-foot-by-20-foot prefabricated all-steel framed canopy would be rust-proof, thanks to an advanced powder coating, and would also include metal ribbed roof panels, four support posts and colors that would match the existing courts and fencing, according to the proposal. The department is purchasing the canopy from Ben Shaffer & Associates for $9,583, which was one of three quotes obtained through the public bidding process.

The total cost for ground preparation, installation of the concrete slab and sidewalks, and drainage improvements is $16,000, an estimate received from the borough’s Engineering Department, according to the department’s proposal.

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Mayor J. Brooke Hern said the courts are heavily used, especially due to an active community group that routinely coordinates events at the courts, and this investment would be well spent.

“Even beyond the organized group, it’s hard to get a court sometimes,” Hern said. “I think this is something that is really put to good use.”

Hern suggested further improvements be made to the practice wall, which is heavily cracked, and move the existing sidewalk away from overgrown plants that often create muddy conditions and pose a danger to any residents who are walking, biking or running.

Lesnewich said he thinks there is an open-use policy so anyone can use the borough’s tennis courts. But if the borough is reaching the point where New Providence residents are paying taxes for use of the tennis courts and aren’t able to use them, he suggested the council may need to look into it further.

While Hern said there should be a scientific approach to look at who uses the tennis courts, he said he often sees a lot of people there from New Providence.


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