The tennis courts at the Poplar Bluff Middle School were resurfaced over the summer for students and patrons to use through an ongoing partnership forged with Parks & Recreation.
Lanny Corcimiglia approached the school district with a cost-share proposal soon after being hired as director over the Poplar Bluff Parks Department late last year. A memorandum of understanding was approved by the R-I Board of Education in February, and General Acrylics of Mount Vernon, Ill., completed the job in June.
“The partnership was relatively easy to establish, and I think it worked out well,” said Corcimiglia, crediting John Scott—who holds seats on both the school board and the parks board—for serving as a liaison between the entities. “Any time you can split cost to allow people to get out and about more… Plus it can be used by the school district as basically an [extension] of the playground for the kids.”
According to the winning bid, resurfacing included power washing, filling cracks, applying acrylic material, striping, painting and installing new nets, plus repairing the birdbaths nearby. Portable pickleball nets were also added. The agreement included sharing maintenance responsibilities.
“The mutual benefit for both parties is to provide another avenue for students and citizens of Poplar Bluff to play tennis/pickleball and continue to participate in a recreational sport for exercise and social activity,” wrote R-I Assistant Superintendent of Business Dr. Amy Jackson in the district’s board memo.
The three courts were previously utilized for practice by PBHS Mules Tennis until the campus along with its athletic facilities moved from the Victory Lane location to Hoover Way in 2016. The old tennis courts were kept open for public use after hours at the now Middle School since they are among the few in town with outdoor lighting.
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Cutline: General Acrylics employees resurface the tennis courts at the Poplar Bluff Middle School in June.