VIENNA — Vienna Utilities Superintendent Shon Westart and city officials at the Aug. 7 city meeting discussed paving and upcoming work on the city park’s tennis court.

After reviewing the city’s financial report, South Ward Aldermen Brenda Davis said the city had only spent about 4.3 percent of the city’s total annual budget after the first month of the fiscal year. She said it was easy to see where the city had spent money so far because it had spent about 11.4 percent of its park budget.

Westart said the city should be under budget for the whole year because there are no plans to pave streets. He said the cost of replacing culvert pipes is too high.

“I walk pretty regularly, and to be honest with you, I don’t think our streets are in that bad of shape,” Brenda Davis said.

Westart agreed. He said he would like to have a sealer work on some of the streets that have been recently paved.

Mayor Tim Schell asked if the city planned to fix the tennis court at the park. At the June city meeting, officials discussed including money to repair the tennis court in the 2023-24 budget. City Clerk Karen Dudenhoeffer said she had received “quite a handful” of calls about the condition of the tennis court and concerns that kids could fall and hurt themselves because of how poor it looks. The city included money in the park budget to fix the concrete at the tennis court and the basketball court.

“I’m not putting the tennis court back, but we have to fix the concrete,” Westart said at the Aug. 7 meeting. “Then we can decide on what we want to do with the tennis court.”

Brenda Davis said she agreed and would like to get public input about what the city should do with the tennis court.

“Is it used enough to be worth putting anything back in?” she said. “Do we cut our losses and tear it out and make it a picnic area?”

Westart said he had heard of some cities putting in pickleball courts to accommodate a growing interest in the sport. Pickleball courts are about one-fourth the size of tennis courts at 44 feet long and 20 feet wide.

According to the Sports and Fitness Industry Association, pickleball is the fastest-growing sport in the United States. Participation in the sport increased by 85.7 percent in 2022. The sport has grown by more than 158 percent over the last three years.

Equipment used in pickleball includes a plastic pickleball, a paddle for each player and a net. The ball produces less bounce than a tennis ball, but the gameplay is like tennis because players use their paddles to hit the ball over the net and then return the ball after it bounces once in a certain area of the court.

Dudenhoeffer said she enjoys playing pickleball. Brenda Davis said she had seen its popularity because some of her coworkers in Jefferson City play it on their lunch breaks.

Westart brought the discussion back to the city’s tennis court.

“We can leave it blank, blank slate, but we have to address the concrete,” he said.

The repairs will overlay the concrete. Westart said he had only received one bid because the work requires special laser screed equipment to precisely cut the concrete to the same height across its surface.

North Ward Alderman Rita Juergens asked if work at the tennis court would be completed before the Maries County Fair, which begins Aug. 31.

Westart said it should be done by the time the fair starts. He expects work to begin on Aug. 21.

Schell asked if the fence around the tennis court would have to come down.

Westart said they will probably pull the fence back to complete the work.