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Atlantic’s Sunnyside Tennis Court reconstruction plans meet with approval

News, Sports

June 18th, 2012 by Ric Hanson

Plans to reconstruct the tennis courts at Sunnyside Park in Atlantic continue to move forward, thanks to approval from the United States Tennis Association (USTA). Atlantic Parks and Rec Director Roger Herring said at Monday evening’s meeting of the Parks & Rec Board, that the USTA approved the plans last week. He says because the plans have been approved, the USTA will send the City an application for funding. Once that’s complete, Herring says he hopes to announce the letting of bids for the project within the next month. Herring said also, the City has “A shot at having some new courts, or at least starting on them, by this Fall.”

The tennis courts at Sunnyside Park are in poor condition, and need to be resurfaced, especially before district tennis action can be held. During their meeting on April 10th, the Atlantic Board of Education agreed to split the cost of resurfacing the tennis courts with the City, which in return will help with the future costs of refurbishing the Washington tennis courts. The USTA application should help the City to obtain a grant to pay for the Sunnyside court improvements, thereby reducing the costs.

On another note, Herring says improvements have been made to the tennis court restrooms. Instead of replacing the restrooms at a cost of about $200,000, Herring took some money from the Capital Improvements fund and the Sunnyside Park Improvement Fund, and “refurbished” the old restrooms. He says the toilets and sinks work fine, but the lighting was “absolutely horrendous.” Herring improved the lighting for as little as $60, by installing “vandal-proof” lights, which also increased the brightness. He says they also painted the restroom interior, which is something that had never been done. He said the concrete block “dungeon” look is gone, and it’s “100% better,” on the inside.” The restrooms will soon be open to the public.