Pickleball courts, Band Shell improvements to be discussed tonight by Clear Lake City Council

CLEAR LAKE — Clear Lake’s City Council tonight will discuss a pair of improvement projects involving the City Park Band Shell and a proposed outdoor pickleball court.

== The first deals with the City Park Band Shell. City Administrator Scott Flory in a memo to the council says the Parks Department recently brought forward some concerns about needed maintenance and possible upgrades to the facility, with all the items being well beyond the city staff’s ability to undertake. Flory says while there was no line item for improvements in this fiscal year’s budget, some of the items and areas of concern do warrant consideration for adding them as an amendment to the budget for completion prior to Memorial Day 2024. The council tonight will consider a professional service proposal from Atura Architecture of Clear Lake to assist with the planning, design, bidding and construction of the project, with the total cost of the agreement being $18,500. 

== The second project in cooperation with the Clear Lake Community School District is the proposed repurposing of the existing basketball courts located on North 20th Street across from Clear Lake High School into pickleball courts and a new basketball court. Flory says the new footprint would provide space for six pickleball courts as well as the added accommodation for a full basketball court. The city, school district and Cerro Gordo County have each allocated some funding towards various components of this project, with the local pickleball club also securing funds through grants and donations to contribute towards the project. The city solicited proposals from professional engineering firms to assist with the planning, bidding and construction of the project, with the lowest bid coming from Veenstra & Kimm of Mason City. The cost of services for planning, design and bidding are not to exceed $14,250, and for construction related services $6500.

The council meets tonight at 6 o’clock at Clear Lake City Hall.