During the Cold Spring City Council meeting Monday night, it was announced that the city’s community center would no longer offer indoor pickleball on Tuesdays and Thursdays after a community member marked the floor of the gymnasium with Sharpie.
Mayor Angelo Penque expressed his frustration toward the incident and asked those using the Community Center to be more considerate.
“I would hope that people that use our facilities in the future, especially our gymnasium, where we’ve done a lot of work in there, to be more considerate of our property,” Penque said. “I was really upset over those marks, we have done a lot of work in there to keep it nice for folks. It’s [the community center] is a beautiful facility, we would like to keep it nice, I’m asking the city to please take care of it.”
According to the mayor, there were at least six marks created on the gym floor by the individual with a Sharpie marker.
The person who made the marks was not identified in the meeting, but Penque said they have camera footage and are aware of the individual who vandalized the court.
The City of Cold Spring also posted to its Facebook page announcing the change in open gym and reminded others in the community the outdoor courts would still be available.
According to Public Works Director Ronnie Hitch, they are still working toward getting the marks off the floor. If that does not work, they will have to look into replacing the gym floor.
The community center will still host normal gym hours, but they will no longer host indoor pickleball.
Indoor pickleball was a temporary arrangement during the winter months, according to city officials, where they had a rolling net and moveable markers. They are unsure if they will host pickleball in the gym next winter.Â
The community center held its grand opening in August 2022, and the six outdoor pickleball courts were opened to the public last year.