When it comes to happenings around De Soto, City Manager Todd Melkus is rarely caught off guard.
But, on the morning of May 10 when Mayor Autumn Blanchard began reading a proclamation to celebrate the opening of the city’s new pickleball courts, Melkus, who has been city manager since October 2018, realized he was a little out of the loop.
The De Soto City Council’s proclamation declared that the park at Rock Road and South Thomas Street “shall be known as Melkus Park from this day forward.”
The park had featured a basketball court, but in April an improvement project was completed there, adding six pickleball courts, fencing, additional parking, concrete steps and an Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA-compliant) ramp.
The project was completed on budget at a cost of $475,841.24. It was funded with revenue from the city’s park and stormwater tax.
Those who attended the grand opening and ribbon-cutting ceremony included several City Council members, city employees, De Soto Chamber of Commerce members and many pickleball players.
Blanchard said the council managed to keep the new name of the park a secret from Melkus.
“I honestly don’t know what to say other than the fact that a lot of individuals were involved in making this project come to fruition and this was totally unexpected,” Melkus said. “It’s been a pleasure to work with this council and without them, projects like this would never happen, so the credit should really go to them.
“I am happy to see all the people up there using the courts daily and look forward to seeing their usage increase as the sport continues to grow. We are now working on the second phase of the improvements, which will be the resurfacing of the basketball court, which we are hoping will get started this winter.”
In 2022, the City Council was approached by a group of pickleball players about resurfacing the city’s three-court pickleball facility on East Miller. Melkus said city leaders decided it wasn’t fiscally smart to make those improvements since it was in a flood plain so he picked a site for new pickleball courts on top of an old reservoir next to the existing basketball court.
Eve Janis, a member of the group that started the “Desoto Mo Pickleball Fun” Facebook group, said having a brand-new facility with six courts is fabulous.
“What a great use of the space,” she said.
Janis said the pickleball courts are conveniently located and are being used by people of all ages.
“It’s not just seniors; it’s being used by families and teens,” she said.
Janis said the city added space for canopies and seating in case tournaments are held there.
Melkus said the ADA ramp is on the other side of the courts.
“On the southwest corner of the courts by Rock Road there is ADA parking and access,” he said. “We were unable to put it on the side with the parking lot due to the steepness to get up to the courts.”
Janis said pickleball sets are available to check out at the De Soto Library, allowing people the chance to try pickleball and see if they like it.
“We had a generous patron donate two sets,” said Karen Graham, the library’s director. “Each set contains two paddles and two balls. They can be checked out for 21 days.”
Janis said anyone interested in pickleball should join the Facebook group and watch for posts about evening learn and play times when volunteers will teach the sport.
Blanchard said pickleball is a popular sport right now, and she hopes people will come from all over the area to try the courts and then maybe patronize De Soto businesses while they are in town.