July 2023 | Page 10

By JOHN MCLAIN AND KATHI GRAY

From Kathi : The construction project at the Charbonneau Sports Center is moving full steam ahead ! But , it has been difficult to know what the court availability would be this summer . Waiting for the permits to start construction on the new dual use sports building has made it difficult to make plans for activities , Kids Summer Camp , Open Pickleball Play , clinics and lessons . Donna Roisom , our club pro , will be holding free clinics for non-club members who are

residents of Charbonneau at 11 a . m . for tennis and 1 p . m . for pickleball on July 8 . Fun times !

We finally have some good news out of the city

MCLAIN of Wilsonville permitting department ! Our permit is complete and we are scheduled for the Design Review Board on July 10 . The city could issue permits anytime between July 11 and Sept . 12 . Gary Newbore ’ s guess is

GRAY sometime in August , possibly .

All the materials are set to go as soon as the green light is issued ! In the meantime , we will continue to enjoy playing outdoors in the sunshine . We can all look forward to being able to play both sports in the new sports building this winter !

From John : The new Sports Center Board

is made up of residents who represent pickleball and residents who represent tennis . However , the majority of the board members play both sports . The goal for the next few years is to grow the membership in both sports . New pickleball members are limited to residents only .

The Sports Center Board is updating the rules for members using the new facility . This is important for two reasons . First , there are now two sports played in the facility , pickleball and tennis . While many rules apply to both sports , there are other rules that are specific to each sport separately . A membership guidebook will soon be published as a paper booklet and also posted on the website . Second , the number of people using the facility will have more than doubled by the end of this year ( less than 200 in years past , and expected to rise to about 400-500 in next two years ), compared to a few years ago . Rules are important to assure that all members will

have access to reserve the courts and participate in organized events and leagues . The priorities for developing rules and scheduling court availability are , from highest to lowest :

� Availability of members to reserve and play on a court is most important . � Leagues and events are also important . � Lessons and clinics are necessary for members to learn and improve .

The CCC Board expects the new Sports Center to be a fully utilized and self-supporting amenity for the residents with the next two years . Jim Meierotto , general manager , will monitor and make budget decisions based on reporting from the Sports Center Board and Sports Center Manager Donna Roisom . There are many challenges ( e . g . new software for court reservations ) and unknowns ( e . g . patterns of court usage , meeting growth targets ). We will have a much better idea of progress about six months to a year after the completion of the new building .

By MARGIE WIESENTHAL