Using Kern Park for a girls softball complex appears increasingly unlikely.
But officials said they are trying to find an alternative location that might work out better.
City Councilor Mike Rimcoski said he is firmly opposed to putting new fields at the long-neglected Kern Park and called on park officials to find another spot.
Rimcoski said that the former Roberts property, purchased for $1.2 million seven years ago for a recreation complex, may be the best option.
The Bristol Girls Softball League is searching for a place to build at least a couple of new fields to accommodate its growing numbers of young softball players. It currently uses Little League fields at off times.
City Councilor Kevin McCauley, co-chairman of the Roberts Committee, said he suspects there are “a lot of leagues out there” that are interested in having fields at the 46-acre site on Chippens Hill.
City Councilors recently asked the Park Board and the Roberts panel to consider the request from the girls softball league.
A park panel subcommittee has already been looking into it, but hasn’t made any decisions.
The Roberts property has been largely ignored by city leaders since the Board of Finance gunned down the initial request two years ago for money to move ahead with $6.3 million recreation complex that included a lighted, synthetic playing field and parking for hundreds of cars.
Mayor Art Ward said he would still like to see the site used for one of the two new 900-student schools sought by the Board of Education, but a majority of the council favors putting the building in a sand pit off Barlow Street.
A final decision on the school site is likely within a few weeks.
The Bristol Soccer Club and several other youth sports leagues have long called on the city to create more fields for young athletes to use. They say there is a serious field shortage in town.
City leaders, including Ward, have said that better oversight of the use of the school and park fields would help. They also said that the new schools can offer more fields that might be able to help alleviate the crunch.
Tom Tabacco of the girls softball league said that his teams need a facility.
“The girls don’t have anything in this town,” Tabacco said.
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Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com
14 comments:
And you wonder why our taxes are going up and up!
Who is going to maintain this, and all the other fields?
I guess Softball is more important than Education.
Way to go Mike, Not in my back yard!
Nice idea if we had the money to spend. We don't. This city needs to set priorities to help out the tax payers and new fields in this economy should not be high on the list at this point in time.
Why is Mayor Ward so wanting the Roberts property for a new school?
6:10
Because some of his friends might benefit if it is chosen.
Why does Tobacco care? Does he hope to get the contract?
Mike, how will this keep our taxes down?
how is ward or his friends going to benefit by putting a new school on property owned by the city?
would seem to me that the taxpayers would benefit because they wouldn't be paying more money because we own the property.
people need to take their heads out of their butts and realize that whether or not these schools are needed, the need for the taxpayers ability to pay for them should be the first consideration.
Kern Park is totally underutilized and should be used for fields. Mike Rimcoski is scared of the loud mouthed NIMBYs in his district. It would cost far less to do over Kern Park then it would the Roberts Property. Duh! I guess Mike is only a taxpayer advoicate when it doesn't affect him and potential votes from his district.
1:08
City owns property, but has to provide duplicate amount for open space if Roberts property is used for something else.
Until law is changed, if it ever will be, WHO, WHO in the city has this amount of land available in one piece?
Leave it as open space.
Dr. No doesn't know.
and why would we want to build another K-8 right across the street from Chippens Hill, on top of a hill that's hard to get to in winter, far away from the neighborhoods whose kids would be bused there? This smells fishy - does somebody have a friend with the right amount of duplicate land that we would then have to buy?
Mikey, you are losing it.
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