YMCA welcomes pickleballers while Belfast works to appease City Park neighbors

MIDCOAST VILLAGER • September 22, 2026

The effort to resolve the pickleball dispute at Belfast’s City Park has produced a temporary place to play, promising results from quieter equipment and what Mayor Eric Sanders describes as a productive search for long-term answers. The Waldo County YMCA has agreed to make room for two pickleball courts at the rear of its back parking lot until snow arrives, Sanders said in a Saturday update. The city plans to provide nets and other equipment for the courts. The arrangement is intended as a short-term measure while Belfast continues examining how to preserve the fast-growing sport without subjecting nearby residents to hours of the sharp, repetitive noise that prompted complaints this year.