Interview with EPRD Board Incumbent Monty Estis

EPC: Why are you running for a second term on the EPRD Board of Directors? What qualifications/experience do you bring? What is your your operating philosophy going forward with EPRD?

Monty: Most of you know me, and for those who do not, I am the short guy with the funny, lens less goggles. I ran for the Board 4 years ago, because I felt that EPRD did not listen to its constituents very well. Since that time, we were successful in getting a fourth court at Wulf and permanent, dedicated courts at Marshdale. However, that took much more effort than it should have. I am running again to ensure the long-term health of the district and help improve all of the programs we offer. I believe in offering the most recreational opportunities we can in a fiscally responsible manner.
If you don’t know much about me, I have 30 years of real-world business experience with companies such as Bell Labs and ACT. I have worked in technology, including as a business analyst, determining the needs of the business and the best ways to meet those needs. My academic background is in Mathematics, Economics, and Computer Science with degrees from William and Mary and Stanford University.
Pickleball is still overcrowded. There are both small, near-term fixes we can employ, such as more time slots and better scheduling, as well as larger, long-term solutions such as a new gymnasium. You can see more about other issues I feel are critical on the EPRD website.
As an active participant in pickleball, as well as many other programs, I will work hard to deliver the best experience for our patrons.

EPC: In 2018's mid-term election, EPRD floated a $24 million bond issue for, among other things, a gym and pool at Buchanan Rec Center, repairs to the pool at Wulf and permanent improvements to the Evergreen Lake North Trail. The gym at Buchanan would have doubled the number of much-needed, year-round, indoor pickleball courts in the district. A much-larger than expected voter turnout defeated the proposal, but by a narrow margin.
Why do you believe the bond issue failed and, going forward, what would warrant another bond issue to be put before the voters?

Monty: Feedback from the community on the bond issue indicated that it failed for three main reasons:
It was too large.
It was almost entirely for improvements at Buchanan with little at Wulf.
It didn’t provide any new recreational opportunities.
I argued for a smaller bond measure, but Bill May said, “If I’m going to ride a horse, I’m going ride a big horse.” Well, he got bucked off, and now EPRD doesn’t even have enough funding to build new outdoor courts, let alone a new gymnasium.
Aquatics enhancements were a big part of the measure, but the plan for new pools changed month to month up to and including the very last meeting. Again, I argued that we needed a solid plan well before the election, but to no avail.
In any bond election like this, you will typically get 1/3 of the voters opposed, and 1/3 of the voters in favor regardless of the specifics. It is the middle 1/3 who will determine the outcome.  We knew from the survey that the probability of the measure passing was 50/50, so the board should have modified the plan to get more support.
To have a successful measure, we need to have a plan that excites most of the community, is well thought out in advance, and is reasonably sized. We may be able to pass a measure for a new gymnasium at Buchanan, and that would provide more pickleball courts. We may also be able to incorporate part of the Conifer area into the district, and build a small facility with a gymnasium on the parcel that David Figuli so generously offered to donate.  It may be possible to complete that plan without raising (or raising only slightly) the taxes of current Evergreen residents. Current residents would certainly be more likely to pass a proposal that didn’t raise their taxes nearly as much as the failed measure.  I would support a bond measure if it helps pickleball, among other needs, is well thought out, and is reasonable in size.
Until then, the Wulf gym is still often underutilized, and we should be able to get more hours for pickleball.  If we spread out play times in a fair way for all players, we can reduce the wait times.
It is my hope that if I am re-elected, along with another economically savvy and analytical member like Don Rosenthal, we can convince a third board member to vote with us, and start making better decisions.

 EPC: The Evergreen pickleball community appears to be persona non grata with certain members of the EPRD Board, many having said publicly that they "never want to hear from the pickleball community again." How did we get to this point with the Board and what do you think it will take for us to be a respected, listened-to constituent?

 Monty: As you said, most of the other board members have either said, or agreed with other board members who said, that they "never want to hear from the pickleball community again." To me, this is outrageous for any public servant to say about their constituency.
Three of the four other board members have almost no participation in EPRD activities. They have not experienced the overcrowding firsthand as we have, so they do not understand our frustration. For those of you who are newer to the community, we had to fight for permanent nets and lines at Marshdale, even though that project was under $10,000. (For comparison, the board approved $80,000 to pave the dirt parking area at Marshdale.) Even worse, we had to fight, and provide our own design, to get a fourth court lined in the Wulf gym. That cost was only a few hundred dollars, but increased capacity by 33%!
We can gain support of the other members by offering to partially fund some of the projects we want. It does not have to be a large amount, but I know the offer is appreciated. We can attend board meetings, comment on other business and show the board we are not just about pickleball. We can be a bit gentler when we make requests. But realistically, regardless of the facts, logic, or tone, the current board will never truly support pickleball. If both Don and I are on the Board, I know we can sway at least one other member to our side on these issues. This is why it is critical that we have two members on the board who actually play and truly support pickleball.

Make sure you download your request for a mail-in ballot. Today EFR announced that their election, also May 5, will be mail-in only. We can expect that EPRD may make the same decision, so get your mail-in ballot early.
Monty has given us options besides snail mail for getting the request for a mail-in ballot in before the April 27 deadline:
Option 1 – Fill it out by hand, take a picture with your phone, and e-mail it.
Option 2 – Download a free PDF reader that also lets you fill in these forms.  If you're interested, go to this site and download the reader.  The "Typewriter" icon at the top will let you enter information into the PDF form. Save the file and e-mail it.

Watch next week for our interview with EPRD Board challenger Don Rosenthal.