Pickleball won’t be offered as a recreational activity in Palmerton anytime soon.

Borough council on a 6-0 vote Thursday agreed to rescind a prior decision to apply for a Pocono Mountains Visitors Bureau grant to fund a new pickleball court.

Before the vote, Councilman Andrew Hollywood said that after council had previously agreed to apply for the grant, details about issues started to come out of the woodwork.

Hollywood mentioned drainage issues; potential plans for the borough to use the area to store materials; and the borough fire chief who may want to use the area for fire drills.

Chief among the issues, Hollywood said, was the noise complaints. He was concerned the noise that would be generated from the activity.

He added that after weighing all those issues, it was “felt it was best not to go down that road.”

Councilman Randy Gursky was absent from the meeting.

In February, council on a 6-0 vote agreed to apply for the grant to fund a new pickleball court by the Elmer Valo Baseball Field on South Third Street.

At that time, Councilman Kris Hoffner said he believed the sport would be a big draw in the borough, and noted it’s one of the fastest growing sports in the country.

Pickleball is a combination of tennis, table tennis, and badminton. The game is played on a court with a net. The surface is smaller than a tennis court.

In April 2022, borough council applied for a grant to the Pocono Mountains Visitors Bureau in the amount of $10,854 to improve the basketball court next to Elmer Valo Baseball Field on South Third Street.

Former borough Manager Donna McGarry said that was the total grant application, for which the borough’s share would be 50 percent, or $5,427.

McGarry said the work to be done included repairing the existing fencing along the east side, increasing the fence height on the north side, sealing of existing cracks, asphalt coating of the entire court area, lining of the court, and installation of new backboards.

Several surrounding municipalities, including Lehighton and Walnutport, offer pickleball in their respective communities.