Joe Creason Park Pickleball Records Dispute: Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman has ruled that Louisville Metro Government broke the law by failing to meet a deadline when responding to a public records request related to a proposed pickleball and tennis complex at Joe Creason Park. However, he also supported the city’s later denial of the request.
Request Targeted Pickleball Project Emails
The Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting (KyCIR) filed a request on April 30 for emails and other records between city officials and members of the nonprofit that pitched the controversial Kentucky Tennis & Pickleball Center at Joe Creason Park. KyCIR also requested city communications with Bellarmine University, believed to be a potential early partner.
The request came during growing community opposition to the project, which eventually led Mayor Craig Greenberg to cancel it. The city responded on May 5 and May 6, asking KyCIR to provide email addresses for non-city people involved in the project. KyCIR appealed this requirement to Attorney General Russell Coleman.
City Says Search Would Be Too Much Work
The city’s attorney later said the request was too broad and would require reviewing thousands of emails across multiple departments. Using two keywords—“Joe Creason” and “pickleball”—staff found 7,593 email results from just 11 employees. The city estimated it would take 379 hours to review those documents.
The attorney said many of the emails were protected under state law because they included private business plans or early project recommendations. “Further, because Metro ultimately decided not to pursue the KYTPC [Kentucky Tennis & Pickleball Center] project at Joe Creason Park, many of the responsive emails are very likely to contain confidential and proprietary business plans … thus requiring careful redactions,” the attorney wrote. “Many other records would likely be exempt as preliminary recommendations …”
Attorney General’s Decision
On June 10, Russell Coleman’s office said the city failed to follow the Open Records Act by not responding to the request within five business days. The law requires either an approval or a denial within that time. Instead, the city asked for extra information without giving a legal reason.
But the attorney general also agreed with the city’s argument that the request was too much to handle, calling it “an unreasonable burden.” Because of this, the city’s denial of the request was upheld.
New Request Filed
KyCIR has since submitted a new, more specific records request focused on the Joe Creason Park pickleball project.
News in Brief: Joe Creason Park Pickleball Records Dispute
The Kentucky Attorney General ruled that Louisville Metro Government missed a legal deadline when replying to a public records request about the Joe Creason Park pickleball project. But the city’s denial was allowed due to the large scope. KyCIR has now filed a narrower request.
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