Bollinger Tennis Courts receiving fresh updates

Jul. 20—JAMESTOWN — For the first time since 2006, the Jamestown Tennis Association decided to resurface and repaint the Bollinger Tennis Courts.

"I think the urgency was why we weren't going to wait any longer," said Jordan Koushkouski, the Jamestown Tennis Association president. "The reason that it hasn't been done earlier was probably because we didn't have our ducks in a row as far as getting grant funding and getting it on the books for the park and rec budget for their part of it too."

Koushkouski said the project was funded by grants from the United States Tennis Association, Jamestown Tourism and the Jamestown Parks and Recreation Department. He said the grant from the United States Tennis Association totaled $18,500, while the grant from Jamestown Tourism was estimated to be over $10,000.

Koushkouski credited Jamestown Parks and Recreation President Amy Walters for helping budget $35,000 for the project. He said Walters presented the proposal to the Jamestown Tourism board.

"Since she's came in she's really had a focus on making sure our facilities are adequate and support the recreational opportunities in town," Koushkouski said.

Koushkouski said normally tennis courts should be resurfaced and repainted every five to 10 years.

The organization hired JB Surfaces in Fargo after taking bids from multiple companies that resurface courts. Koushkouski said part of the process was making sure the companies could follow the United States Tennis Association's guidelines for the dimensions of the court.

Koushkouski said the price of the work has increased in the 17 years since the courts were last resurfaced. He said the entire project cost between $50,000 and $60,000.

"They estimate it's about $10,000 per court, and that varies on the court conditions, conditions of the concrete and stuff as well," Koushkouski said. "That would be a good average, about $10,000 a court in today's world, post pandemic ... I'm pretty sure in 2006, it was like maybe, $4,000 per court."

During previous renovations in 2006, the Jamestown Tennis Association decided to leave some courts open while the organization worked on the other courts.

However, this time Koushkouski said they were able to do all six courts at the same time with the utilization of the courts at Feton Park. The process was expected to be completed on Thursday, July 20.

Outside of the courts being resurfaced and repainted, Koushkouski said the hitting boards will be moved from their current position. He also said the courts will take on a new paint job, going from blue and green to green and gray.

The crew mixed water, sand and paint in a barrel and spread that around the courts with multiple layers.

It takes approximately one day to put the layers of material on the courts, said Roderick Jones, an employee with JB Surfaces. Jones said painting the lines on the court is easy because tape is used to make sure they stay within the lines. Jones said the job requires a lot of organization as they work through the six courts and have to keep the colors organized.

Jones said the team had to fill in the cracks that were on the court.

"There's a lot of them scattered on the court," Jones said. "It took them like a week to get the patch done."

One of the most difficult parts of the process is patching the cracks, said Zach Brusseau, an employee with JB Surfaces.

"Definitely the patching, the first stages, making sure everything is smooth and flat, filling in any holes or cracks that we need to fill," Brusseau said. "Once, we start putting layers down, it's pretty easy, it's pretty fun, that's when time really starts to fly by during the day."

Jones said they put the materials around the holes for the nets and if anything got in the holes they used a paint brush to get the paint out. Jones said the Jamestown Parks and Recreation Department is responsible for putting the nets back in after the crew leaves.

Brusseau said a complex with six courts usually takes a week and a half to fix. Brusseau said they work to make sure that the winter does not make a big impact on the courts.

"We try to make sure it's the least amount of impact that we can get on them," Brusseau said. "So, any sort of cracks or joints, there's a thick joint running along these that we can fill with vinyl cement just to minimize how much compressing and stretching happens in the winter with the thawing and the freezing."

Before they paint the lines, Jones said they lay the tape on the court and put a material called Line Rite on in order to make sure the paint does not bleed through the lines.

Jones said the Bollinger Courts did not present any unexpected challenges to the crew.

As he looks to the future, Koushkouski said he wants to add windscreens, newer bleachers, a concession stand and bathrooms to the facility.