Two new bylaws requiring a majority vote at town meeting. The first bylaw would create a Town Tennis Committee “TTC,” like the Beach Committee or Harbor to manage and operate the five Tennis Courts at the Chilmark Community Center on a year-round basis.

The TTC will be comprised of two Chilmark residents appointed by the Select Board who are familiar with tennis in town and one town member appointed by the Up Island School District. The committee will be under the direction of the Town and shall serve the interests of it and its residents. The second bylaw creates a revolving funds account allowing the TTC to operate the intake and output of funds at no taxpayer cost (see below).tion text goes here

The TTC will be able to better provide for the year-round management and operation of the Town courts. The TTC is seen as essential to the vibrant year-round tennis community, fostering collaboration and strong input from various stakeholders, including the Community Center. The TTC would use membership fees to keep funding in tennis programming, and would contribute to free after-school programs, free summer tennis for Island children under age 18, winter playing opportunities for Chilmark children at the bubble, mentorship initiatives for Island children, and fundraisers for community development. The TTC would choose and manage the tennis pro, tennis staff and administrators, oversee programming and court time. The TTC would be required to conduct business according to open meeting laws allowing for much greater transparency and allow for more input from tennis players and community members.

No. We believe the receivables from summer membership and other fees and contributions to the revolving funds account will far surpass the outtake and even allow for reinvested funding for youth tennis program year-round for Island children. The TTC may also organize fund raising initiatives through FACT to reinvest summer adult membership fees into youth programming. This will be much more beneficial to taxpayers than the current arrangement.

The Town of Chilmark owns the tennis courts on its’ property. It has an evergreen 2018 MOU (memorandum of understanding) for the operation of the grounds of the Community Center with Chilmark Town Affairs Council (CTAC) a private non-profit. Once the bylaws are enacted, TTC will have the exclusive right to manage and operate the courts year-round when enacted. The Town has the right to determine who manages the courts. We believe the 2018 MOU is not in accordance with Chapter 30B of the Commonwealth law requiring it be subject to a Request for proposal (RFP) bid. Notwithstanding the assertions of some, it is also clear that CTAC raised funds from the tennis community at large as donations.

The TTC should be charged with cooperating and collaborating with all the CCC stakeholders and will ensure a seamless transition to the traditional summer program. The Town tennis committee shall also cooperate on the establishment of a mutual statement of values w/CTAC.

Of course. The TTC can, and almost certainly will, ensure that the summer tennis program for campers continues by working with CTAC on a mutual agreement of use during the seven-week program. Through the TTC, parents and families will have much greater input into the summer and year-round program.

As it has always been, Chilmark residents will be able to play free of charge on the Town courts from September—June. As previously has been the case, membership fees will continue to be applied for summer play. It would be our view that a return to discounted pricing for Island residents shall apply.

Since the pandemic, an increase in the vibrancy and amount of play on the courts year-round has necessitated a more permanent construct. We believe the year-round management should supersede and provide for better continuity of what has traditionally been a seven-week summer program that paid no attention to year-round play and engagement.

Seasonal residents dropping in on shoulder months shall have a seamless opportunity to drop in on the year-round tennis community in advance of or post-summer season.

The TTC will have the right to manage the courts and delegate certain responsibilities to the non-profits. For example, the committee may decide to collaborate with CTAC in the seamless operation of tennis as part of the CCC kids camp.

We also believe that more regular oversight would address structural maintenance issues, ensuring the courts remain in optimal condition, and that improved year-round programming would lead to a better year-round experience on the courts. It is anticipated that all long-term capital maintenance would be paid for through contributions to tennis Chilmark. This would perhaps avoid hefty capital costs when tennis courts are not properly and routinely monitored.

The town tennis courts have been managed for a 7-week summer period in accordance with the 2018 MOU by the Chilmark Town Affairs Council. Eddie Stahl has managed the courts for the remainder of the year as an employee of CTAC under the MOU. CTAC has recently been managing the summer program more like a private club with higher membership fees, less accessibility to play, and no reinvestment into year-round and youth programming. The Town has full authority to determine who manages the Town courts. We believe a TTC, comprised of year-round residents, including the input of the school committee, would lead to a much more vibrant recreational center for the Town.

Our members have been denied representation on the Board. There are currently 14 CTAC board members, of which 3 are actual year-round island residents and none play tennis regularly.

The town owns the tennis building on its property. The tennis building is not a large concern (nor is it addressed as part of our citizens’ petition) but may be subject to discussion with the Town/CTAC as part of an updated MOU. It will not be an issue for CTAC to continue to use the tennis building as a 10-month storage facility.

The members of FACT have contributed significant sums to the Community Center, including much of the funding to build the tennis building and other maintenance contributions. We expect that spirit of philanthropy to continue under the TTC and if necessary, FACT’s involvement.

The TTC will coordinate for the use of the CCC bathrooms in summer with the Town, or alternatively provide for bathroom usage as is currently provided on a year-round basis.

Because the TTC will be more intimately connected to the Town year-round, those kinds of usage questions would get full community airing.

This will be heard at the Annual Town Meeting