Work begins on new tennis courts

With any luck, the sound of the swing of rackets will be echoing through Ben Williams Park in Lakeside by mid-August.

Construction work began June 23 on two new, standard-sized tennis courts at Ben Williams at the site of the old volleyball pit. The courts will include a concrete retaining wall as a permanent backboard for practicing.

"We're very excited," Tamara Tanberg of the Lakeside Parks Advisory Committee said of the project that has been in the works for three years. "We hope the community is too. We're looking forward to having this facility."

Costs had previously been a hold up for the courts. Estimates for the project's cost began at around $90,000. That has now been trimmed to less than $62,000, according to the committee.

The excavating is being done by the heavy equipment class at Flathead Valley Community College, which will do the work for the price of fuel and a maintenance and safety officer.

The cost was also cut by donations of a "generous' amount of "asphalt millings' for the compact base course by the Montana Department of Transportation, according to the committee.

The Flathead County Weed/Parks/Recreation Board approved $40,000 worth of funding for the project with an additional commitment of $10,000 for future maintenance.

"The nicest part about it was that the county was very pleased to be a part of doing it," Tanberg said.

Local donation pledges thus far total nearly $12,000. The project still needs an additional $10,000 for installing the nets and applying acrylic surfacing and lines.

Those interested in donating to the project can do so through the Lakeside Community Development Foundation account at Flathead Bank. Donations can be made by mailing checks to Box 1002, Lakeside, MT 59922, or calling Flathead Bank at 844-1600.

Ben Williams Park, created in 1975, has been a priority for the committee as of late, with much work being done to it over the last few years.

Last spring new playground equipment was installed at the park as well as a new vaulted toilet.