After an aggressive funding campaign in 2023, the pickleball courts at Fairgrounds Park will get an upgrade in 2024.

Mexico Parks and Recreation Director Chad Shoemaker presented city council members with bids for lighting for the city’s two pickleball courts. Currently, players are limited to daytime play because of the lack of lights. The project is being funded completely by the Mexico Parks Foundation.

The winning bid was TK’s Electric of Auxvasse for $22,343 which was about $1,300 lower than the next bid from Meyer Electric of Jefferson City.

Shoemaker said the Foundation approached the city about the project last year and raised the money. The city constructed the pickleball courts in 2017 after the Foundation raised the money for that project.

“We were happy to see it get funded,” Shoemaker said. 

The project will include two light poles with multiple lights on each pole. Advertisements for bids were sent out and 19 different companies were contacted. The city received only three bids. The third bid was four times higher than the amount of the  winning bid. Shoemaker said some companies will submit outrageous bids in hopes they will be the only bid received. Shoemaker said in that instance the city has a policy that all bids can be rejected and a new request for bids sent out. Most of the time it doesn’t work for the bidder.

“There’s still people who try to do it,” Shoemaker said.