Evansville mayor will 'likely' veto if city council votes to stop pickleball project

EVANSVILLE — Following Mayor Lloyd Winnecke's presentation on the duties of the mayor Thursday afternoon, he was met with questions on the proposed pickleball courts at Wesselman Park.

Right now, the Evansville City Council has a proposed ordinance that would stop the project from moving forward. More than that, the proposal from Missy Mosby, D-Second Ward, and Jonathan Weaver, R-At-Large, would require city council approval for the "developing, constructing, selling or leasing" of land in the park boundaries.

This encompasses the grassy area next to the tennis courts where pickleball is planned, referred to as "Wesselman Meadow" in the ordinance.

And Thursday afternoon, the 15 or so attendees to the League of Women Voters of Southwest Indiana presentation learned Winnecke would likely veto the ordinance if it were to land on his desk.

It would be only the second veto of his tenure as mayor.

More:Ordinance that would stop Wesselman pickleball project put on hold

Another location for the courts

Winnecke said he couldn't see the reason behind placing pickleball courts in the area of Roberts Park, an often suggested alternative, when a proposal to put softball and baseball fields there a few years ago was knocked down.

One of the major reasons that project didn't happen there was because of light pollution concerns, he said.

"I don't see the wisdom in now coming back and saying we can put pickleball in there or we can put some other sort of multi use," he said.

The city also likes the plan it has, he said. Ann Odean, a dedicated "Save Wesselman Park" attendee at city council meetings, asked if it would be possible to find another location.

Winnecke said it is unlikely.

"So you think it's going to go there," Odean said.

"I hope it goes there," Winnecke said.

Odean said she feels there isn't an understanding on how many people don't want the courts in that space at Wesselman Park. Winnecke countered there a great number of people who do.

Winnecke's veto power

Should the ordinance be voted down at the April 10 city council meeting, Winnecke said he expects there would be a parks board meeting called to award contracts on the pickleball courts.

"If it passes," he said, "I'm likely to veto it."

Winnecke has only used his veto one other time. That came in 2015, when he overruled an ordinance that would have required appointees to local boards and commissions to be city residents. The city council voted to override his veto, which it can do with a two-thirds majority vote. In that case, the matter was ultimately decided by the courts.

Next steps for the ordinance

A city council committee hearing will take place at 2:30 p.m. April 4 in room 301 of the Civic Center. It will be open to the public, and a presentation is expected from the Evansville Parks Department on the project.

City council plans to vote on the ordinance at its April 10 meeting, scheduled for 5:30 p.m. in room 301 of the Civic Center. Public comment will be taken on the ordinance prior to the vote that evening.