June 15, 2023 at 11:33 a.m.
Double fault? Hodag Park tennis players speak out on skate park plan
Habitat for Humanity wants city to repair sidewalk
Double fault? Hodag Park tennis players speak out on skate park plan
Council members and city administration also indicated they would likely hear about it if anyone had concerns about allowing the tennis facility to be temporarily converted into a skate park.
Heard about it they did as the public comment period of Monday evening's council meeting consisted of statements from longtime users of the Hodag Park court.
The speakers said they have enjoyed the Hodag Park location not because of the court itself but the beauty and ambience the lakefront location provides.
Sally Larson read from a letter written by Cathy Koerpel.
"The little court at Hodag Park has brought years of joy, laughs and friendship," Larson read from the letter. "We enjoyed playing tennis at the court from the spring until fall. You would likely not find a good tennis player willing or interested in playing on the court, but we played there because of the ambience and beauty. The park is quiet, the views of the water are beautiful, many many times over the years in between games one or more of us would comment on the gift that it is for us."
According to the letter, a few years ago there was discussion about putting a basketball hoop up at the court but it didn't come to pass because an alderperson noted that people were using the court for tennis.
"We knew with the long-term plan for Hodag Park that our time playing on that court would come to an end, we didn't expect it to come to an end this soon, however," the letter ended.
Chani Craig also addressed the council.
"For 20-plus years our tennis group has used the Hodag Park tennis court every week day in spring, summer and fall," she said. "We play at Hodag because of the beauty and peacefulness of the area," she added, noting that on occasion people would set up chairs and watch the matches.
She also noted that the group has always taken great of the care of the facility.
"We have never been forced to leave because we're being too loud, we have never defaced public property, left garbage laying around or caused trouble in any way." she said. "When we asked the city administrator why they were using the tennis court at Hodag Park as a temporary skate park, he said 'because they asked.'" Well, now I'm asking for you to keep the tennis court as is. Save your taxpayers money and keep it as it is, preserving the peace and serenity of the park. Is it really necessary to spend tax money on something temporary when that temporary thing has shown us many times that it does not work out?"
According to council rules, city administration and alders cannot respond to public comment. At the end of the meeting, when the chair asks for suggestions for future agenda items, no one mentioned the court/skate park issue.
Before the May 22 vote to allow the temporary skate park, city attorney Steve Sorenson noted that the city could face potential liability issues if someone is injured while using the skate equipment. This is because the court was not built as a skate park, he explained.
"You can say recreational immunity might save you and that would be true if (the court) was built as a skate park," he said. "It was not built as a skate park. Therefore, if you read the technicalities of recreational immunity, you're trying to use a facility that was designed as a tennis court as a skate park without having done any research, without doing any study as to whether that surface is correct."
Alderperson Carrie Mikalauski brought the idea to the council after hearing from the Over It youth who have spearheaded the construction of a permanent skate park that will eventually be added to Pioneer Park.
"Because it's going to take a significant amount of time to create the permanent skate park at Pioneer Park, these kids really don't have an area where they're allowed to skate," she said last month.
In a phone interview Wednesday morning, Mayor Kris Hanus said he understands the feelings of the tennis players, and noted the approval of the temporary skate park did take place rather quickly, but the council has expressed support for the skate park idea and he doesn't see that changing as none of the alders requested the panel revisit the subject.
He also noted that it's likely the facility will accommodate more users as a skate park than it has as a tennis court.
"It's just temporary," he added. "Next year the (tennis) net may be back up."
According to last month's vote, the skate park equipment is to be removed from the court by Oct. 1.
In other business, the council heard from Habitat for Humanity executive director Dave Havel who asked that the city public works department repair a portion of a sidewalk at 638 Thayer Street.
Havel explained that the home at 638 Thayer is nearing completion, however the excavator had to break up part of the sidewalk in front of the house to connect the water to the property.
He said he called City Hall to ask if the sidewalk could be repaired and was told if the city did it for one, it would have to do it for everyone.
"I'm here to tell you that we're not everyone," Havel said. "There's only one organization in this town that's a nonprofit and supports affordable housing and it's Habitat for Humanity. The way we do our work, we solicit help and support from everybody when we build a home, volunteer help, donated services. In the case of this home the Rhinelander High School building trades class (built the structure). Lots of great collaborations go into the homes we build to make them affordable. So we're asking the City of Rhinelander to please consider helping us with a very tiny portion of this project which is to put the sidewalk back in."
Havel also noted that there was previously a vacant lot where the house now stands and the city will receive tax revenue as a result of the construction of the home.
"So there's an interest here and I think an opportunity for the City of Rhinelander to partner with Habitat for Humanity," he added.
City council president Eileen Daniel wanted to know how much it would cost the city to put in the sidewalk. According to Havel, the space that needs to be repaired is approximately 20 linear feet.
"That sounds nominal and within our budget," public works director Randy Myrum indicated. However, without a exact dollar figure at the ready, Daniel suggested tabling the matter until the council's next meeting.
"It's hard for us to approve something without knowing the cost," she noted.
The council voted unanimously to table the matter until its next meeting in two weeks.
Heather Schaefer may be reached at [email protected].
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