HUNTINGDON, Tenn. — A debate about Huntingdon’s new tennis and pickleball complex nearly sent the project back to the drawing board Tuesday night, before the Town Council voted to approve it anyway.
Council member Lori Dillahunty opposed moving forward with a memorandum of understanding between the town and the Huntingdon Special School District, the agreement that governs how the new Huntingdon Tennis Complex will be used, maintained and paid for once it’s built.
“My concern is not whether pickleball is popular. It’s not whether this is a good project,” Dillahunty told the council. “My concern is whether we are financially prepared to take another major recreational asset while meeting the obligations we already have.”
She referenced the town’s parks and recreation master plan, which was adopted last year, and its list of unfinished priorities. Additional fields at the Kelly Sports Complex have been on the books since 2012 and still are not fully funded. Edward Park is still waiting on new basketball courts and lighting. The town’s ADA committee, which Dillahunty serves on, has a list of accessibility upgrades it hasn’t been able to pay for.
Pickleball, she said, ranks behind all of it on the town’s priority list.
Dillahunty also expressed concerns about who would be left holding the cost down the road. She raised the scenario of the town having already committed money elsewhere when a resurfacing bill comes due.
“Let’s say we’ve had to give money to the fire department, we’ve had to give money to the police department, and we’re sitting there going, ‘you know what, we can’t resurface those courts right now’,” Dillahunty said.
She warned that scenario could also mean losing the warranty on the courts, and the cost would fall on the town as much as the school district since its name is on the contract.
Dillahunty asked the council to table the vote and hold a special-called meeting to work through the numbers.
Town attorney Robert T. Keeton III warned that tabling the item would likely kill it for good, since reviving a tabled motion requires a two-thirds vote of the full council.
Mayor’s Viewpoint
Mayor Chad Edwards feared pushing the vote off would jeopardize the funds.
He explained the $1.5 million in funding ended up coming to Huntingdon as a direct appropriation, bypassing the grant process entirely.
“In March, we put in for the grant. Magically, we got it a different way,” Edwards said. “The decision tonight is either to build or to send [the money] back to Nashville.”
He said the $1.893 million guaranteed build price from the project’s construction manager has been on hold since February. Construction costs, steel in particular, will only rise the longer the town waits.
“I don’t want to lose the bid. I don’t want to come back with a $2 million project because the town’s not going to make up the difference,” he said.
“I guess we’re typical government if we keep kicking it down the road, because that’s what typical government does,” Edwards added. “You can’t get stuff done in a timely fashion.”
“I think the mayor made the point,” Council Member John Sanders said. “The schools are willing to put their part up, and the Wright Charitable Trust will put their part up. I understand long term, but we’ve got other projects out here that we’re having to pick up and pay for.”
Other Council Concerns
Council member Kelly Eubanks said her frustration wasn’t with the project itself but with how little time the council had to weigh in. She said the agreement was circulated Friday with a same-day deadline the following week to respond.
“I’ve been out of town,” Eubanks said. “I just feel like people need time to think about it. If we have to call a special meeting to pass it, then let’s do it. But just putting it on the agenda like that, to me, that’s just not good business.”
Council member Chad Barnhart commended Dillahunty for pushing the council to look closer at the numbers. He said the town has a track record of struggling to maintain what it already owns. But he stopped short of backing her request to delay the vote.
“I’m all for this project, but I share reservations,” he said. “I’m ready to move forward, but at the same time, I do share the reservations myself.”
Huntingdon Special School District Director of Schools Dr. Jonathan Kee explained that the school district has already secured $1.8 million toward the project, $1.5 million from the state and $300,000 from the Wright Charitable Trust.
Dillahunty asked whether the project could be scaled back to save money and preserve some of that gap for future maintenance.
“Why would we downsize?” Sanders said. “When we were shooting for this, if we could go bigger and we were able to take the money, that’s what we wanted to do.”
Barnhart asked whether the district would commit to setting aside whatever it ended up saving on the final price toward future resurfacing costs. Kee said no, arguing the district is contributing a lot already.
“I would argue we’re doing probably more than we should,” Kee said. “But we want this for our kids.”
Barnhart said he wasn’t trying to keep score between the town and the district.
“It’s not who does more or who does what,” he said.
Kee also defended the project’s scope, which grew from four tennis courts and four pickleball courts initially to the current six tennis and eight pickleball courts after early conversations in December.
“Pickleball is the fastest growing sport in the country,” Kee said. “That’s why we laid it out the way we did, so we can host tournaments and not be upset 10 years later when it grows.”
The Vote
The council voted to approve the memorandum of understanding, with Dillahunty casting the lone no vote and Eubanks passing.
Under its terms, Huntingdon Special School District will transfer ownership of the land to the town while retaining an easement for its agriculture program’s access to adjoining school property. The town will handle general repairs and insurance on the site. The school district is responsible for day to day upkeep, including mowing and cleaning. Both parties split the cost of any court resurfacing not covered by insurance.
The council also approved a construction agreement with Lashlee-Rich, Inc. of Humboldt, the project’s construction manager, at the guaranteed maximum price of $1,893,949.
Construction is set to begin once the town issues a formal notice to proceed, with substantial completion required within 250 days of that date.
The complex will be situated next to the Huntingdon High School band’s practice field on Mustang Drive.
After the meeting, Dillahunty said her vote and her concerns weren’t about the relationships in the room.
“I just want to start thinking to the future. I love all these guys and I’m very grateful to the school system,” she said. “I just wish we had taken a little more time to go over some things.”