The vote took place Monday after the city council received an 88-signature petition from park neighbors asking them to reconsider their decision to build a courthouse.

Neighbors said the addition of the eight courts would change the nature of the park by reducing the quality of life caused by the noise generated in the park, with many former park users becoming pickleball players. said he was kicked out by

The Flagstaff Pickleball Association has long called for a court to be built. There are currently only two free private public courts within Flagstaff.

In the end, the city council voted 5-2 against reopening and re-debating the issue. Debate among lawmakers was sparse before the vote, and lawmakers were taking the correct steps to either reopen the agenda or leave it as is.

Audria Smith, a neighbor of President Bush, a key figure in opposing the construction of the new court, said she was disappointed and confused by the council’s actions.

Smith told the Arizona Daily Sun that she felt the city council completely ignored her and other neighbors’ concerns and did not provide any additional discussion or consideration they had asked for.

“Very disappointed. They didn’t even vote to discuss this. They didn’t ask us any questions even though we sent every bit of information,” Smith said. Told. “We’re not against pickleball, they just don’t realize how badly they’re making noise and how annoying it is.”

Just before the meeting ended, several city council members spoke about their decisions.

City Council members Jim McCarthy and Caller House voted to reconsider the issue.

Mr McCarthy has been adamantly opposed to building a courthouse at Bushmaster Park since it was first proposed. The House voted in favor of building a courthouse, but said after the city received the neighborhood petition, it thought the court should be reconsidered, particularly in light of the noise effects caused by playing pickleball.

“I’m going to ask my other city council friends to at least allow us to discuss this matter. You may vote exactly the same way as last time, and that’s fine, but at least talk about it. Let’s talk,” McCarthy said.

Deputy Mayor Austin Aslan, meanwhile, said there was no reason for the city council to reopen the agenda after making such a clear decision just over a month ago. And Aslan, he said, believed that doing so would set a bad precedent.

“There is no new information here that was not available in May. As a general principle, I am very cautious about proceeding with citizen petitions to cancel a ballot that the City Council literally just voted for. sets a very troubling precedent and invites all sorts of confusion, bitter emotions and circular debates,” Aslan said. “I’m not going to change my vote on this issue. If you want to understand my reasons, check out the video from the last time Congress took up this issue and voted to move forward. Not so long ago.” It’s not.”

City Councilman Lori Matthews broadly agreed with Aslan, but added that neighbors certainly had legitimate concerns about the courthouse being built. Still, Matthews stuck to his original support for the new court.

In the end, the council chose to retain its original vote without reopening the issue. The court has also decided not to take up new petitions to build a courthouse in Thorpe Park, apparently respecting a previous city council decision rather than building a courthouse there.

Mayor Becky Daggett was one of the lawmakers who spoke about voting just before the meeting ended. She was one of three MPs who initially moved to bring the issue back up after a citizen’s petition.

Daggett said he believes there may be ways to mitigate noise issues related to gaming without the council taking further action on the issue.

Still, this may not be the last time Bushmaster’s pickleball court buzz hits the streets.

Neighbors of the park last month planned to take the project to court if the city went ahead with construction.

And Smith said there was still a good chance he could seek a resolution through the courts.

“We have neighbors who are willing to fund this, which means we took seriously the statement that we were willing to sue and issue an injunction,” Smith said. “I don’t know how much longer I have to keep my foot on the fire.”

Pickleball problems, especially the noise generated by the game, are by no means unique to Flagstaff. Communities, local governments and courts across the country have all seen their fair share of debates and controversies surrounding the game.

Pickleball is already played on multiple multi-purpose courts built with tennis and basketball in mind at Bushmaster Park.

In May, Congress voted 6 to 1 to approve $920,642 to build eight new courts and resurface existing multipurpose courts in the park.