Littleton School Committee Approves Moving Tennis Courts to Middle School Site

LITTLETON — September 12, 2024 — Littleton School Committee backs tennis court relocation and Whitcomb baseball renovation. Voting unanimously at its September 12 opening meeting, the committee approved a plan to move a previously approved four-court tennis complex from Littleton High School to the Littleton Middle School field, pairing it with renovations to Whitcomb Field to bring the varsity baseball venue up to the standard of the district's showcase Jet softball facility. Assistant Parks and Recreation Director Tim Michalski told the committee the high school site was dropped after a June 2024 site visit found it would require retaining walls, significant earthwork, and disruption to the school bus parking area. The town appropriated $734,000 at its November 2023 town meeting for the courts project; approximately $112,000 of that will fund design and construction documents, leaving $621,000 for construction. Michalski estimated an additional $300,000 — ballparked from a comparable renovation at Acton-Boxborough Regional High School — will be needed to complete both projects and will go before the Finance Committee and Select Board. The committee's vote authorizes town officials to rewrite the warrant article, currently restricted to the high school site, so it can go before fall town meeting; this is the project's third trip to town meeting after a $1.1 million Cooper Farm proposal was shelved in 2022 and the high school siting proved unworkable in 2024.