Michael MacDonald & Stewart Shevin met with Amanda Treadwell of the MDNR (Mi. Dept. of Natural Resources) on Wednesday, 5/1 at the MDNA’s new digs on Belle Isle. Amanda updated us as we looked over and approved the architectural drawings for the court renovation. She was both candid, inclusive and accommodating.

The detailed plans included:

- Removal of the existing roof including ceiling lights, netting and steel poles that support the netting

- Installation of a steel 1/2” flat diamond mesh ceiling and support structure. This will cover 20’ x 20’, or the front 1/2 of the court.  Sample here. This will be supported every 4’ with 2” x 8” tube steel that runs perpendicular to the front wall.

- The ceiling will have a 5 degree pitch and a 3” space below the support cross beam. This will cause balls hit on top the ceiling to roll back down onto the court floor

- Additional block, flashing and coping work will be added to fix the existing block walls and properly shore up the newly exposed block wall tops.

- The courts will be repainted with a creme color. 

- There will be no ceiling lighting replaced. The flood lights at the fences will remain.

Estimate of construction timeline:

Amanda was not able to give a finish date. But a rough sequence of events follows:

- The plans are currently out for an estimate of costs.

- The plans need to be approved by LARA (License and Regulatory Affairs) for code adherence. 1-2 weeks.

- Existing roof demolition. 2 weeks.

- Repair of any structure caused by demolition. 1 week.

- Fabrication of metal ceiling and support structure. 3 weeks

- Construct cement block coping and flashing.

- Assembly of ceiling grate (welding and otherwise. 1 week

- Paint - 1 week

Some of these items will happen concurrently. That said, our best guess for completion is September, 2019. 

I realize this is disheartening for the Belle Isle players. Our hope is that when it’s all said and done, the courts will be in great shape for years to come.

- Stewart Shevin

The courts are currently closed for renovation. Please read the thread for specifics of renovation details. As soon as we hear anything, it will be updated here.

As you can imagine, along with the ceiling tear-out the interior court lighting will go away. As of May 1, 2019 the MHA board has decided that MHA will not allocate funds for installation of new lighting at this time. This is because:

- Park hours end roughly at sunset in the summer. It is doubtful anyone will play in the evening.

- Funds for the courts will be directed toward cement floor surface repair and caulking of floor to wall joints.

- There are still flood lights at the rear of the fenced area

After much schmoozing by Stewart Shevin,  the state has agreed to change their plans for the roof structure. We have seen engineering drawings (below) provided by the city of a fixed, metal 1/2” diamond mesh that will incorporate a slight slope so that balls hit onto the roof structure will roll back down. This will not only provide a playable ceiling, but also save $6 per mighty hand error! The courts will play similar to St. Clair Shores and Palmer Park. 
We am waiting on Amanda Treadwell, our contact at the MDMR as to when the tear-out of the current roof structure will begin and replacement ceiling installed. Stewart Shevin and Michael MacDonald of the MHA board are meeting with Amanda on May 1 to approve the engineering drawings.

History in 2018: The MDNR repaired some cement block and added a (I imagine ADA approved) walkway to the courts from the street. This happened as part of the athletic field area grant. The MDNR began ceiling repairs began to correct leaks. At that time the roof was determined by state engineers to be too costly to repair as the structure is rotted. This caused the area to be closed off for liability reasons. The water fountain was refurbished by the MHA. 

Plans shifted because of this. A decision was made to tear out the roof, and replace with netting that would keep balls somewhat within the court area, but not act as a playable surface. This decision, we were to find out, was because the state had no idea that the ceiling is part of the playable court.

Report from MHA President, Dale Chimenti