Gilford pickleball courts nearing completion

GILFORD — The installation of pickleball courts located at the Arthur A. Tilton Ice Rink were approved in the fall, and painting was underway this week. Town leaders said they should be ready for use in the coming weeks.

Town Administrator Scott Dunn said Thursday the timeframe for the painting of the courts has some moving pieces, and the court needs to dry out before additional lines are painted. The goal was to have it finished by the end of the week. When asked if it will be ready for people to play this summer, he said, “absolutely.”

“It will be ready in a week or two at the most.”

The project to make improvements at the ice rink was approved by the selectboard on Oct. 22, and started with the delivery and installation of sideboards and concrete, in November and December. The pickleball portion, which is being done by SealPro, had to wait until the weather warmed up, as acrylic surfacing and colored lines needed to be installed.

The town appropriated a total of $360,000 for the total project, with $150,000 coming from a Land and Water Conservation Grant, $80,000 from the Recreation Revolving Fund, and $130,000 from the town’s surplus fund balance. The pickleball painting and lining portion of the project had a price tag of $27,500.

In an interview in November, Dunn said as funds came from the LWCF grant, a stipulation was the court would be free and open to the public. This means no town sticker will be required.

Parks & Recreation Director Matt Mansur was at the court Thursday morning, to check on the progress of the painting, which started July 6. He said SealPro staff came in and cleaned and prepared the concrete for painting and sealing.

Sean Chant, owner of SealPro, was with two employees on Thursday, finishing up the paint job. The hope was to finish that night.

“We’ll finishing the final coat of paint right now, and then tonight, we’ll stripe it,” Chant said, as he poured paint from a bucket onto the surface.

He said it takes about a day between coats, and had been working about four to five hours a day throughout the week. The crew is from Saratoga Springs, New York, and arrived at 9 a.m. on July 6, when they started cleaning and washing the area before painting.

Chant said they found the paint has been drying by 5 p.m., and the crew needed to be out by Friday. After the painting and sealing is done, Mansur said the nets will need to be installed, and then it will be ready for the public to use.

“We’re just setting it up for five pickleball courts to happen through the non-freezing seasons,” Mansur said. “Then we’ll turn it into a rink the rest of the season.”

Dunn has been looking forward to the pickleball court, as it turns a rink only used for a few months out of the year to something that can be used in any season. Mansur said the prospects of that are exciting.

“That was kind of the selling point on it, that it’s a year-round facility now, which is cool.”