Dear Member,
Due to the poor and unsafe condition of the tennis courts, both from worn carpet as well as constant rippling in the material, the Board approved a renovation of the surface in September. The cost of the project has been completely reserved for, and should come in just under budget. The work is beginning officially on November 4th, but some prep work in Courts 2 & 3 will take place at the end of the prior week. If all goes according to plan, the new courts will be ready for play at the end of December.
The old surface is called Classic Clay, and it is a carpet that is topdressed with sand to hold it down and provide a natural surface feel. However, the material has been a problem since not long after its installation, and the manufacturer in Australia went out of business years ago, so we have never had support for it.
The new surface it known as Har Tru. It is also called green clay, but it is actually composed of crushed stone, making for an ideal tennis court surface. Har Tru is easier on the joints, cooler than hard courts, repair and crack-free, and can last virtually forever with proper maintenance. The only significant future renovations may involve the subsurface Hydro Court irrigation system, but that is 10-15 years down the road, and is not a very expensive procedure.
One of the major maintenance items for the daily use of the courts is water, and in order to supply the 2400 gallons of water per day necessary to keep them damp, we will be either drawing water from the lake, hooking up to Bonita Springs Utilities, or drilling a well. Until we settle our easement lawsuit with RCS, we need to hold off on adding any additional intake from the lake, and since potable water is not cheap, we may be drilling a well. Look for an additional water fountain out on the new courts as well.
During this shut down, we will have some other options for play at both Lighthouse Bay and Copperleaf. Details of available days and hours is forthcoming.
We are excited to complete this project which will vastly improve the quality, safety, and enjoyment of the tennis facility for our Membership.
Mike
Springing Forward 
Great decision on Har Tru. Although we don’t play in the league’s we enjoy playing tennis occasionally and found the old surface to be sub standard. The tennis courts were part of the original amenity package provided by the developer and am personally glad to see them being maintained even though tennis is played by a minority of members. If we can afford Bocce and lighting for Bocce and landscaping for Bocce and god knows what else, we can afford to maintain our courts.
All sounds good and we’ll have better playing surfaces. One question, it would appear that the on-going maintenance cost (the need to water the surfaces on a regular basis) will increase. What is the plan for covering these added costs? Thanks, Don Kalmey
If we hook the sprinklers up to drinking water (Bonita Springs Utilities), it will cost us over $5,000 per year. However, if we drill a well, or install an intake pipe in the lake, the water is free. The problem is that we cannot install an intake pipe in the lake until the lawsuit is resolved in our favor.
Ultimately, the cost for either an intake pipe or a well will fall within the approved budget.
Excellant job of researching options and putting together a good, affordable plan. Thanks to Jim Bartle, Mike Bannigan, Gary Orten, Joe McCreery and especially, Dick Conte who work on this prior to his passing. Thanks Mike for your support as well. The tennis board will be meeting today and we’ll make sure that proper oversight is happening to bring this project in on budget and up to specs.