BY ADAM ATKINSONNorth Country This Week

POTSDAM – North Country Pickleball Club members were on hand to voice support for the club at the village board meeting on June 16, while one local pickleball player who was not a member questioned why club members were able to sign out large blocks of time on the village’s municipal pickleball courts at Sandstoner Park.

Following the discussion, the mayor asked for calm among all the sides in the ongoing public discussion regarding use of the village’s taxpayer funded courts.

Village officials have been in discussions with North Country Pickleball Club leaders and others regarding how the village is managing the courts following some complaints over the last year.

Recently two local pickleball players have raised issues about the club’s involvement with court management. Kimberly and John LaShomb of Norfolk have written several letters to the editor of North Country This Week, calling the club’s management of the publicly funded courts into question, as well as questions about the membership fees for club board members.

Supporters of the club, in turn, have been critical of this newspaper’s coverage of the rift, stating that the organization does a lot of good for the community through its fundraising activities. Club members are claiming that these efforts have not been adequately reported on in their opinion.

North Country This Week, however, has printed and posted numerous articles and letters regarding the pickleball club’s prodigious local fundraising efforts and their volunteerism.

Many of the comments in support of the club focused on this at the village meeting Monday.

Former town supervisor Ann Carvill first spoke in support of the organization.

“There have been a number of, repeated number of articles in the paper that have been negative and I feel that drum has been beaten too many times on the same story over and over,” Carvill said.

“The leaders of this club are highly respected, ethical and hardworking,” Carvill said. “They are so admired that when they call for help at their tournaments and other ways that they make money and donate it, a small army shows up.”

Carvill said the club has raised about $45,000 in donations for local nonprofit organizations and causes, including local fire departments, cancer treatments, and animal shelters.

She said the club members have also painted the courts twice, which amounts to about $36,000 in donations.

Carvill said the club members put in 30 to 40 hours a week sometimes at the courts, helping to manage things there.

“I encourage you to promote what has been successful. And, while we may want to tweak things, maybe a policy here or there, I would really encourage you not to damage something that this point is so highly successful and so embraced by the public,” Carvill said.

Pickleball club member Kevin Carvill also spoke in support, pointing out that the club has raised thousands of dollars for local organizations, including $10,000 recently for United Helpers.

“The North Country Pickleball Club community is really the envy of pickleball players regionally. We have players who regularly commute from Plattsburgh, Ottawa, Syracuse etcetera, just to play in Potsdam. It’s really put Potsdam on the map in the pickleball community,” Kevin Carvill said.

“And, I think it would be very unfortunate to sort of lose the momentum that has been built by these hard working individuals, because at the end of the day, if the community is lost, then it's just a parking lot with some courts in it,” he said.

Kevin Carvill said while there were “articles” in the paper from “a disgruntled couple from Norfolk” who have been critical of the club’s role, that the village should listen to the 250 club members that are “exceedingly happy with the way things have been run there?”

Other comments supporting the club’s management of the courts were voiced by supporters as well.

However, one commenter questioned the club’s control of court time.

Potsdam resident Michele Nadder said she plays pickleball at the Sandstoner courts, but said she was not a member of the club.

“I think the club has done a wonderful marvelous job, hands down. But I don’t think that means they are allowed to reserve the courts, they're a public court. And if I were a regular resident without being a member of the club and I wanted to play early in the morning, there is no court available because they have reserved it all. And early morning is when seniors want to play, when it's not too hot,” Nadder said.

“I do think they deserve credit and I do think they need support, but I don't think they need the extra privilege of saying we get to exert the courts over others,” Nadder said. “Anyone who wants to play should be able to play.”

“The other thing quickly is that there's so much misinformation out about what's going on, that you don't have a lot of people, non-club, here to speak because they don't know,” she said.

Nadder added that the open court time the village recreation program is keeping open for the public from 12-2 p.m. costs $10 to play and that that cost was too high for seniors.

The village’s Sandstoner Park features six outdoor pickleball courts, which the North Country Pickleball Club has helped to maintain.

The club secures blocks of playing hours at the Pine Street complex for its members, in return for collecting membership dues which are then passed on to the village.

Non-residents are charged $125 annually. A $60 lifetime membership fee is in place for village or town residents.

Guests can play during the club hours if invited by a club member and are charged $10.

The village does leave open public session time which is operated by the Potsdam Recreation Program from 12-2 p.m. during the week. A $10 fee is charged per person and the courts are open to anyone who can pay.

Players sign up for court time on the PlayTime Scheduler, a free online scheduling tool created exclusively for pickleball and covers courts all over the United States.

To set up a time to play at the “Potsdam Pickleplex” or at other pickleball courts in St. Lawrence County visit the play scheduling website at https://bit.ly/3Dp8eMu .

To schedule court time at Sandstoner Park, players need to register for a free account on the website.

After public comment, Village Mayor Alexandra Jacobs Wilke asked for patience on the part of those involved in the ongoing discussion regarding the courts.

“I would encourage everyone regarding the topic of pickleball to take the temperature down, and that is my approach,” Wilke said. “Currently, there's a lot of ideas that have been floating around out there. I've spoken in depth about some possible approaches with a designated member of the club, at the same time, I know members of our board and our staff have been looking at this topic quite in depth.”

Wilke pointed out that the village only recently hired a new director of recreation and that the village is still working on how its recreation facilities and programs will take shape in coming weeks.

“And I know everyone has strong feelings on the topic, which is why I would like us to slow down, calm it down, talk to each other like human beings and neighbors, which is what we are and what I have been doing in this process, and approach this as reasonable people who appreciate each other and appreciate the excitement that you all bring to this activity that you so love,” she said.

The mayor said the village wants to talk about ways pickleball can be supported in an equitable way that allows access for new players while providing “sustainable levels of funding to support those activities in the future.”

“I had very good conversations with members of the club and I know members of our board have been very involved in researching this topic and I appreciate everyone's hard work on it,” Wilke said.

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