A Villager presented a petition with 1,000 signatures to the Project Wide Advisory Committee calling for lights to be installed at the pickleball courts at the Rohan Recreation Center.
Donna Buffardi, of the Village of Fernandina, on Monday morning made the pitch to PWAC members.
Buffardi said nighttime pickleball is a “growing trend” and pointed to other neighboring communities that are installing lights.
She said that the 18 courts at the Rohan Recreation Center are ideal for nighttime play, because it is not close to a heavy residential area.
However, PWAC members cautioned that it was not so simple.
First is the cost. Sam Wartinbee, of District Property Management, said lighting a pool would cost about $85,000. Lighting the courts at Rohan Recreation Center could be more costly than lighting a pool.
Secondly, PWAC Chairman Peter Moeller said he feared an avalanche of similar requests for lighting for everything from pickleball to shuffleboard courts.
“I have a gut feeling. If we light Rohan, the cat’s out of the bag,” Moeller said.
Fellow PWAC member Jerry Vicenti agreed.
“Do you want to open up Pandora’s box? When I hear $85,000, that is a lot of money,” Vicenti said.
Perhaps most important would be the impact on neighboring homes.
Community Development District 5 Supervisor Jerry Knoll spoke from experience. He is a resident of the Village of Belvedere.
Residents in Belvedere live with the lights from The Villages Charter School sports facilities.
“It comes with living in Belvedere,” he said.
