Solving the Beverly Hills pickle

It’s Thursday, so let’s talk about the politics of pickleball.

Never played. To the untrained eye, it looks like a cross between ping pong, badminton, and slow-moving tennis. 

I can see why people are ga-ga about it though. It’s inexpensive, easy, and a fun activity with friends.

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So you can imagine the excitement Wednesday morning when the county announced plans for new pickleball courts in Beverly Hills.

The county will essentially take the aged tennis courts and remake them into pickleball courts.

This takes place near Lake Beverly which, if you’re unfamiliar with Beverly Hills, you haven’t a clue what I’m referencing.

Here’s a better reference point: Next to the closed Beverly Hills community pool.

I wrote a blog back when the pool was filled in with dirt and sealed. There was much thought about what to do with the property, but very little direction or even discussion.

And that leads to the politics of it all.

Beverly Hills, once a political powerhouse in Citrus County, has been kicked to the curb. Bigger, fancier developments like Sugarmill Woods, Pine Ridge, and Citrus Hills came along and shoved blue-collar Beverly Hills out of the way.

Commissioner Ruthie Davis Schlabach, who was on hand Thursday for the announcement (on her birthday), often makes the point that District 3 is the smallest geographically of the five commission districts, has the most people — and that’s it.

No coastline. No manatees. No fishing. No tourism. No major business.

That’s a lot of no’s.

The residential road resurfacing nightmare starts and ends in District 3 — Beverly Hills, Citrus Springs, and Pine Ridge. Bless the fine folks of Pine Ridge who are practically begging commissioners to resurface their gawdawful roads, which are the worst in Citrus County but somehow struggle to make the cut because of rules that seem to penalize their community of large residential lots.

I drive through Beverly Hills on C.R. 491 and, no way to say this, it’s a little depressing. A lot of asphalt, but nothing that suggests, “Welcome to Beverly Hills, the heartland of Citrus County.”

Ruthie inherited a community that was not necessarily divided, but rather apathetic. There was a lot of whining about the pool. A vocal minority wanted to keep it open. Everyone else didn’t seem to care enough to show up at commission meetings to offer a thought one way or another.

She sought community cohesion. As a wide-eyed freshman, Ruthie held town hall meetings in Beverly Hills where she sincerely tried to get these folks what they wanted.

Problem was, the Beverlys didn’t know themselves. I bet I could visit Fresh Start Donuts tomorrow, talk to 10 people. Five would say we should have kept the pool, three want pickleball, and two wouldn’t know what I’m talking about.

Ruthie would not be deterred. She asked the county staff to develop a master plan for the park to include pickleball courts, fishing pier, walking trails, and an outdoor shell for events. The county sought $800,000 from the state, which the Legislature approved but the governor vetoed.

Now the county is trying to make improvements without costing a lot of money. The new pickleball courts are funded through the American Rescue Plan (federal money from COVID-19). 

Next, the county wants to do something with the old pool site, now fence-enclosed and UGLY. The idea is some sort of outdoor venue that could be rented or used for small weekend events. No money or details for that yet.

But, yeah, Wednesday morning was a big deal. This resurgence of Beverly Hills has to start somewhere, even if on a pickleball court.

Commissioner Schlabach deserves a thumbs-up for this one.

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