Procurement update: Pickleball co-existing with the tennis courts at Tonsler Park?

There’s planning and then there’s implementation. You can track the latter by staying up to date on what goods and services are being procured by local government.

On March 11, the City of Charlottesville issued a request for proposals (RFP) for firms to renovate and rebuild the tennis courts at Tonsler Park. Bids are due on March 25. Work is to take place this summer.

There are currently four tennis courts at Tonsler Park and the draft master plan calls for the space to be repurposed so pickleball and futsal can be alongside tennis.

One of the drawings in the RFP calls for the contractor to provide striping for eight pickleball courts to fit on the same surface as the four tennis courts. This is a different approach than the one being taken at Darden-Towe Park. You can read about that here.

On March 10, the City of Charlottesville sent out several RFP’s for contractors to conduct work to repair and upgrade sidewalks to have them become compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). These are at:

• 11th and West Street
• 12th and Madison Street
• Bailey Road and Dice Street
• Morris Road and Twyman Road

Here are some other recent procurement updates:

• The city seeks a firm to replace 2,900 linear feet of water line on a section of Locust Avenue. This would span from 10th Street NE to the U.S. 250 bypass. (learn more)
• Six bids were submitted from companies to maintain the city-owned Maplewood Cemetery. The request for 16 visits a year. The lowest bid is from John Morris Landscaping of Gordonsville at $12,720. The highest bid is from Black Roses LLC for $46,0000. The award went to John Morris Landscaping. (learn more)
• Piney Ridge Contracting and Consulting of Appomattox County has been awarded a contract for interior renovations at the Meadowcreek Golf Clubhouse in Pen Park. The procurement page does not appear to list the compensation. (learn more)
• Want to assess the city’s procurement? There’s a procurement for that and bids are due on March 21. (learn more)

Before you go: This story went out in the March 11, 2025 edition of Charlottesville Community Engagement. It took a week to post because there is only so much time. Seven days is way too long, I’ll admit. In any case, this is a work of experimental journalism.