The Laguna Woods Village corporate members meeting scheduled for Tuesday, Jan. 30 will be in closed session and will not discuss the pickleball court contract.
After recent elections for the boards and the influx of new board members, the United and Golden Rain Foundation attorneys will be going over the bylaws and amendments to the boards, United President Juanita Skillman said.
“It’s an educational session by our attorneys and that’s why it’s closed,” Skillman said. “The attorneys from GRF and United are going to give background on the Trust.”
The corporate members meeting was sparked by GRF’s decision to allocate $498,955 toward six pickleball courts. The contract — which was canceled in December — came in just under the initial allotment of $500,000, the threshold that according to the bylaws triggers a vote by the 27 corporate members representing the three housing mutuals.
The contract has been a source of controversy between those who favor building new pickleball courts and those who favor renovating and expanding the existing courts, which are used by both pickleball and paddle tennis. A Nov. 7 decision by GRF to award the pickleball project for an amount not to exceed $498,955 has come under fire by some who questioned the way the process was handled.
Before it was canceled, the contract was expected to be discussed at an open session of next week’s corporate members meeting. Now, they will not be discussing pickleball at all, Village Management Services Community Manager Lori Moss said.
Skillman said that she does not know when pickleball will come back to the table for a vote.
“I think we’ve gotten a lot of input from residents, pros and cons. We’ve been keeping track,” Skillman said.