Jim Presutti, the Town of Newburgh’s Commissioner of Parks, Recreation & Conservation, plans for new pickleball courts to be built at Monarch Drive Park, completed by this coming fall.

For Presutti, the Town of Newburgh community support has helped the progress of this project move forward, even before he became the park commissioner.

“The idea came from a couple of residents back when I was a councilman actually,” Presutti said in an interview. “They asked if the town could entertain possibly building some pickleball courts in the Town of Newburgh cause it is one of the fastest growing sports in the country among middle aged and up.”

According to the official USA Pickleball website, the origins of the game began on Bainbridge Island in Washingston state in 1965. The game of pickleball was created by Joel Pritchard, Bill Bell, and Barney McCallum, whose intentions were to create a new activity for their children and families to enjoy during the summer.

Playing the game of pickleball involves a net, paddles, and a wiffle ball. It combines similar elements and aspects from the sports of tennis, badminton and ping-pong, according to the official USA Pickleball website. A typical pickleball court is similar in size to that of a badminton court.

During his time as a council member, Presutti has worked with the previous park commissioner, Robert Petrillo, in order to plan and discuss how the idea could come about.

Stepping into the role of park commissioner back in April 2020, Presutti pursued the idea again, hoping to find town property that could be used.
For Presutti, stepping into the commissioner role has come full circle for him. It was here at Chadwick Lake Park that he worked in high school and then full-time briefly, before heading off to forestry school. The four and a half-mile trail design surrounding the lake was his final project at Paul Smith’s College.

Looking for available park property, Monarch Drive Park stuck out the most as the ideal spot for the courts to be built. Previously at the park, the park had basketball courts for a time, but the town eventually removed them. Now, there is a small playground on the property.

Presutti initially wanted the courts to be built at the Chadwick Lake grounds, but there was no immediate room. Presutti then took a trip to the property, took measurements and came to the decision to build the courts on the property.

According to Presutti, a bid was sent out and awarded to a local contractor, Boyce Excavating Company. The amount awarded to the company was $168,810.00, which will come directly from the Parkland Trust Fund, according to Presutti. Once the contracts and other documentation is finished and ready for signatures, construction will be able to move forward, he said.

Presutti would like to have the courts completed by this coming fall, should the weather conditions be favorable moving forward and contracts completed. However, if plans are to pushed back, the latest time period for completion would be mid-spring 2022.

Other projects to be determined at a later date are new trails built at Chadwick Lake and a butterfly house.