Jessica Mathews / news@whmi.com


More parking and pickleball courts are in the works for the Genoa Township Hall property.

The Board of Trustees met recently and approved a proposal for engineering design services for a conceptual layout to add parking and pickleball courts.

The project has been in the planning phase for some time due to the expansion of park facilities and the forthcoming Senior Survivor Playground, as it will exceed the current parking capacity at the township hall. Parking was already said to be an issue, and the new playground isn’t even open yet. The township has also fielded a lot of inquiries about pickleball.

Howell High School's annual Senior Survivor fundraiser raised more than $450,000 over two years to fund the construction of the all-inclusive playground, which is being built in partnership with the Township. It’s being built between the soccer field and the upper parking lot at the Genoa Township Park, on the township property off Dorr Road.

Township Manager Kelly VanMarter commented during the meeting that they noticed one of two soccer fields was being sued less frequently – noting many neighboring townships have built facilities since the township constructed its fields.

Plans call for approximately 99 parking spots to be added using half of an existing soccer field, and then converting the balance of the field into roughly 12 pickleball courts.

Supervisor Bill Rogers told WHMI the board has been working to get plans finalized because between the playgrounds, the basketball courts, and even during the winter with the sled hill, they don’t have adequate parking. Rogers said the Senior Survivor Playground could open within a few weeks as all of the materials were in but landscaping work is to be completed before any official opening.

A link to the Senior Survivor Facebook page is provided.