Woodland City Council is reviewing a proposal from City Council member Gabe Huston to develop new sports courts and an outdoor fitness area near the middle school.
“The idea behind the project is pretty simple,” Huston said. “We want to take an area that is being underutilized and turn it into something that can benefit the community.”
The tentative plan is to replace the old tennis courts near the middle school and install a full-sized basketball court, two pickleball courts, an outdoor fitness area and potentially batting cages.
“I’ve already had the conversation with Superintendent Riley and she’s supportive of the concept,” Huston said. “That’s a huge first step because the property belongs to the school district.”
Huston believes the project already has quite a bit of traction due to the city’s access to grants, and the parks and recreation department.
“The first priority is getting the interlocal agreement between the city and the school district,” Huston said.
The agreement would determine who is responsible for maintaining the facility, overseeing construction, handling insurance and liability, and making the facility available to the community.
By choosing to develop the site of the existing courts, the city could save on construction costs typically associated with building a facility from scratch.
“The floor is already there, so that saves us a lot of money versus having to pour concrete,” Huston said. “It’s going to be a pretty smooth and easy project.”
Huston noticed that, with the exception of the schools, the community didn’t have a good outdoor facility for sports.
“Giving the kids somewhere to go and be occupied and stay active, and the community can use it also, it’s just a win-win for everyone,” Huston said.
The next step of the process, after the interlocal agreement, is to finalize the preliminary design for the new courts and fitness area.
“We would finalize the design and determine the project’s construction requirements and put together a realistic cost estimate,” Huston said.
Once these steps are complete, the proposal would then return to the city and school district for final approval.
“Ideally, I’d like to see it make meaningful progress on the agreement plan and funding in the next several months,” Huston said. “I don’t want to promise a construction date until we know what funding is available and we have the necessary approvals in place.”
Despite the long road ahead, Huston is encouraged by the support from the city and the school district.
“It makes it clear that the project is moving through the planning process. Having the city and the school both being supportive is going to be huge for the project,” Huston said.
On a personal level, Huston feels this project is necessary to Woodland because it isn’t just investing in a property, but investing in the future of the community.
“It’s important that we’re looking at existing facilities and looking for ways to improve them instead of starting completely from scratch,” Huston said. “It’s not just about basketball or pickleball or batting cages, it’s about creating a space where kids can be active, families can spend time together and people of all ages can come and enjoy outdoor recreation.”
