Essex Board of Selectmen Approves Tennis Court Design Contract on 2-1 Vote

ESSEX -- June 9, 2025, Essex Board of Selectmen approves $55,000 tennis court design contract contingent on private group donation. The board voted 2-1 Monday to authorize Town Administrator Brendan Zubricki to sign a contract with engineering firm Weston & Sampson for design, engineering, and permitting of the Memorial Park tennis courts, provided the Friends of Memorial Park Improvement Project votes to donate its remaining $56,250 to the town. Board of Selectmen Chair Alva Ingaharo and member Annie Clapp supported the motion; member Peter Phippen voted no, saying "I don't want the town to take on the project management of the project and the funding." Friends president Marty Flood, whose group is dissolving after five years of unsuccessful fundraising, told the board the original $120,000 construction estimate has ballooned to roughly $444,000, and urged the town to take the project on publicly. The board separately voted unanimously to direct Zubricki to compile a written record of failed attempts over roughly two years to obtain a fully executed school lease from the town of Manchester, and to formally press both Manchester and the regional school district for the document.