Those fortunate souls with nothing more to fret about than the location of pickleball courts in upscale Cammack Village can relax. A pickleball court is not coming to Baker Park after all.

The Cammack Village City Council agreed Wednesday night that any money obtained from the state’s FUN Park Grant will be used for other purposes. Those goals, in order of priority, are synthetic turf in the park’s three playground areas, a water-bottle filler station and molded bucket swing seats which are safe for people with disabilities; and the planting of trees, specifically willow and red oaks.

“There was enough pushback” to the idea of converting one of the playgrounds into a pickle ball court, Mayor David Graf said. Indeed, a petition drive and yard signs opposing the idea had preceded the City Council meeting.

“I think we’re safe now,” Baker Park neighbor and pickleball-in-the-park foe Howard Markley said today. Markley noted that, like others, he’s not opposed to pickleball elsewhere but wants to keep the park as a place for children to play.

And here’s a scoop: Markley said he saw the mayor and his wife playing pickleball in the park earlier this week but said the mayor had to bring his own netting.

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