LEXINGTON — Lexington will soon be the latest municipality to boast pickleball courts in its parks.
Village council voted to approve a $145,000 contract with SportScape Builders of Marysville during a meeting Monday night. SportScape will redo the existing basketball and tennis courts at Bicentennial Park, replacing them with a new basketball court and three new pickleball courts.
SportScape will remove the existing fencing and asphalt courts, replace them with a new concrete pad, mark the courts and install new pickleball nets, basketball goals and fencing, according to village administrator Andy Smallstey.
“The construction will take place in the existing area for the current tennis/pickleball/basketball courts, but it will be moved slightly north, away from the pine tree line to avoid debris and interference from those trees,” Smallstey said.
Mayor Brian White said the village installed temporary pickleball nets last year.
“We’ve heard a lot from people in the community that really want pickleball,” he said. “We’re glad to have them. It’s about time.”
Village officials said the project should start soon. Lexington’s contract with SportScape has a completion date of Oct. 31. The project will be funded primarily with American Rescue Plan Act dollars.
Senior center receives donation from late woman’s estate
White also presented Brenda Wilson, director of the Lexington Senior Civic Center, with a sizable check during Monday’s meeting.
The $34,368.52 check was from the estate of Patricia L. Schenk, who passed away in September at the age of 84.
Schenk, who had no children, had been a regular presence at the senior center since her husband passed away in 2009.
“I love that lady, and not for this reason,” Wilson said. “When her husband died, her sister came up and dropped her off here. First starting out she had a horrible time, but something made her hang on to us and ended up loving us.”
Wilson described Schenk as a loving and caring person and a wonderful cook.
“If somebody was missing, she’d want to know where they were. And then she’d send them cards,” Wilson said. “She remembered people’s birthdays.”
Wilson said Schenk particularly enjoyed the bingo and group trips the senior center arranged.
She said it’s common for the center to receive donations for seniors who pass away, but they’re very rarely as significant as Schenk’s. Wilson said the senior center’s annual budget is about $85,000.
The Lexington Senior Center provides programming for Richland County residents age 55 and older. In addition to weekly public meals, euchre and bingo, the center offers health screenings, educational opportunities and other recreational activities throughout the year.
