Weirton Park Board looking for fix to Starvaggi tennis courts
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WEIRTON - While no timeline for a project has been set, members of the Weirton Board of Parks and Recreation agreed Thursday that something is needed to address continued cracking on the courts at Starvaggi Memorial Park.
"We’re going to get a couple companies and see what we can get," reported Parks Executive Director Coty Shingle.
Park officials noted the need for such a project is the result of continuous cracking in the surfaces of the basketball, tennis and pickleball courts at the park.
The Park Board had conducted a renovation of the courts in the fall of 2018, at a cost of $98,000, with cracks reappearing the following spring. Efforts to seal those cracks have been performed periodically in the years since, with similar results.
For years, officials have pointed to slag and other fill material used when the park was developed, with Shingle explaining gas and erosion from the slag material creates voids underneath the courts, which results in the formation of the cracks.
"We know the subterranean material is the problem," Shingle said.
The 2018 project included milling, surfacing and sealing of the courts. If a new renovation goes forward, board members say it would have to be more involved
"It could be pretty expensive," Shingle admitted.
Anthony Capp, a member of the board, noted one potential solution would be to dig out the courts between 8 and 10 inches, use an engineer fill which would be compacted and then install a new surface.
"We’d probably have to do it in phases," Capp said.
Other members of the board, though, said some action is needed soon, even if it is only a temporary fix.
"We need to fill in the cracks," Ronnie Jones said.
Board member Doug Finton agreed, saying the board needs to move forward with some type of project as the cracking could result in injury to people using the courts.
"Whatever it costs, it would certainly be less than a lawsuit," Finton said.
(Howell can be contacted at chowell@weirtondailytimes.com)