Tennis Courts in Renfrew: facebook.com/RenfrewTennisClub
The Town of Renfrew is considering building six new tennis courts and demolishing the old ones.
Last week (Oct. 12th), council spent roughly 2-hours discussing options for the tennis courts at Ma-te-Way in Renfrew.
The staff recommendation included constructing six new tennis courts that would be completed before June 21st of 2022.
Staff are also recommending the court membership fees and hourly rates be changed and that the old tennis courts get demolished immediately.
The town would allow Horton to remove the tennis court fencing to use at their outdoor rink.
The main concerns and confusion surrounded user fees charged by the town and who would be responsible for maintenance.
The cost to construct each court is approximately $100,000 and has a life expectancy of 30-years.
The town is suggesting charging a user fee so anyone, not just members of the tennis club, could play at the courts.
The user fee would result in an $70 increase for Tennis Club members in the first year and an additional $7.50 per year for the remaining nine years of the agreement.
Adults could pay the Town of Renfrew the $70 user fee and would be able to use the courts when there are no events being hosted by the Tennis Club or other groups.
Others just wanting to play could play for a day could pay $8.00 an hour per court (split between four plays is $2 each)
Representatives of the Renfrew Tennis Club suggested that half their membership would be lost charging the proposed rates.
The reason the tennis courts are being moved is because the new Indigenous Culture Centre being built as part of the Ma-te-Way expansion project will encroach onto the existing facility.
The Tennis Club has been operating at the current location since 1981 and before they operated out of the parking lot at Renfrew Collegiate Institute (R.C.I.).
A special council meeting will be held Tuesday night (Oct. 19th, 2021) to continue discussions about the tennis courts in Renfrew.
