PICKLEBALL VS TENNIS SAGA CONTINUES, CHAMBER SHOWS SUPPORT OF VISITOR CENTER LOCATION

Tyler’s Bishop City Council Briefing: January 26, 2026

BISHOP, Calif. –
The Bishop City Council met Monday night, January 26, for a long but mostly procedural session that started at 6:00 p.m. and adjourned around 8:55 p.m. Every seat in the chambers was full, with some people even standing. Only four council members were present, with Councilmember Karen Schwartz absent due to illness. Mayor Stephen Muchovej, Mayor Pro Tem Dennis Freundt, Councilmember Karen Kong, and Councilmember Jose Garcia proceeded with business.

Routine stuff moved quickly. I recommend everyone read the Department Head Reports on the City of Bishop website—good snapshots of ongoing work in public safety, infrastructure, and community programs. Consent calendar (minutes, bills, department reports) passed 4-0 without debate. Two presentations were given to the Council and the public. One was a Presentation on the Valley Apartments, presented by Eastern Sierra Community Housing Executive Director Patricia Robertson. The other was a Presentation on Wild Iris, presented by Wild Iris Family Counseling and Crisis Center/CASA of the Eastern Sierra Executive Director Dominic Hays.

Robert Sharp, Bishop Area Chamber of Commerce Board President, delivered the Chamber’s update in place of Tawni (listed on the agenda). He shared progress on the relocation to 218 South Main Street—remodeling nearly done, phased move starting soon—and read aloud the Chamber’s new Board Resolution 2026-1. The resolution commits the organization to collaborative work with the City, businesses, and community to keep visitor services strong. The resolution also states, “the Board of Directors of the Bishop Chamber of Commerce strongly urges the City of Bishop to include a designated space for visitor information services within the Bishop Park…” See the full copy of the resolution in the agenda on the City of Bishop website. During Sharp’s presentation, Councilmember Garcia interrupted to say the resolution felt “too late” and would have carried more weight earlier. Council seemed to echo that sentiment—Kong noted earlier timing would have helped—but the Chamber has been focused on solutions behind the scenes, including directing board members to hold off on public engagement until they had a unified position. Sharp handled it professionally, and the resolution landed as a step toward rebuilding trust.

The real heat came in Item 10. First, the tennis/pickleball court striping discussion (10a). The lower courts already have mixed lines (tennis + pickleball), but the upper courts are tennis strips only. Parks & Rec Commission recommended striping both sets as mixed use for pickleball and tennis for flexibility. Tennis players pushed back hard—saying four mixed courts would leave them without dedicated play time amid growing pickleball demand. Pickleball advocates argued the opposite: waits are long, and multi-use makes sense. After a tense back-and-forth between citizens and council, no final decision was made. Staff will resurface the courts but hold off on striping until more discussion—possibly next meeting.
Item 10b—the A-Frame update—drew the biggest crowd response. Staff presented the Helix Environmental proposal to handle CEQA (Notice of Exemption) and regulatory permits for the demolition/replacement path, as directed last October. Several speakers supported exploring repair or relocation options and evaluating historical significance (which could complicate demolition if it qualifies). No one spoke against preservation tonight. Council decided to proceed with the CEQA report. More to come on this topic in the coming weeks.
Nothing major on the remaining items. The cross-connection control and ADU/JADU ordinances (second readings) were approved without discussion, finalizing last month’s first readings. The next Bishop City Council meeting is on February 9. If the A-Frame, court striping, or anything else is on your mind, let me know. It is always good to hear from readers. You can reach me at [email protected].