By DawnDee Bostwick
The Duncan Banner
DUNCAN
Mon, May 12 2008
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When the city decided Abe Raizen Park needed some improvements, many citizens and sports organizations rejoiced.
A new master plan was drafted after a public hearing in October 2005, approved by the City Council in January 2006 and, in June 2007, the park was recipient of a brand new ... parking lot?
Today, more than two years after the City Council originally approved the new master plan, the soccer area at Abe Raizen sits almost desolate.
Abe Raizen’s fields still see frequent use by the many football and baseball players, but much of the park’s acreage remains unusable and unsafe for the fastest-growing sports organization in Duncan — soccer.
It’s a problem that brought several Chisholm Trail Soccer Association members to the City Council meeting March 11.
They came to air their concerns about the lack of work being done on the soccer fields and to ask the council to consider holding off on two of the agenda’s items pertaining to Abe Raizen Park until the underlying issues could be resolved.
Repeating a request made to the council by Jason Bivens, former CTSA board member, in June 2006, members asked for playable fields, their No. 1 concern, while showing samples of rocks and asphalt taken from the area where soccer players are supposed to practice and play games.
Kate McKinney, CTSA board member, recounted to the council the “progress” that they had been told time and again was being made. “Progress” that has kept soccer off its fields for more than two years now, she said.
“Our basic issue is to utilize the space as best needed for our league,” McKinney said. “We are the largest sports association in the city. We play spring, we play fall. Abe Raizen is our only field area.”
Using the baseball quads to practice and play games on, CTSA has been told more than once its fields would be ready for the next season. This season, it is still on baseball’s quads.
Making the soccer fields playable at Abe Raizen would require leveling, grading, seeding and irrigation.
Since July 2006, CTSA has been told by city officials that leveling is under way and dirt was in the process of being brought in.
“At this time, it’s neither level nor flat,” said Aimee Greening, CTSA liaison, noting that no topsoil was present on the north side — the area where work was being done — but construction fill dirt was.
“We’re stuck with our children slide-tackling and playing on gravel,” she told the council.
Dana Schoening, community development director, also spoke to the council, trying to address some of the concerns CTSA brought up.
“We brought a lot of dirt in from available sources,” he said. “There may be some misconception here. Nobody’s going to be playing on those fields until next fall.
“We’re going to have a lot of cleanup as we put in the irrigation system.”
Much of the dirt used to “level” the fields came from the Elk Avenue project.
McKinney noted that when construction soil is used, more topsoil is needed to provide a cushion between the rough fill and the players.
Questions about irrigation were raised, too, as it was one item the council was looking to approve.
CTSA expressed how important it was to have the fields level, graded and laid out correctly to include room for a full-size field, before placing in any permanent structure, including irrigation systems.
“We just don’t want to start with the wrong plan,” McKinney told them. “We’re concerned our voices aren’t being heard.”
Mayor Gene Brown asked the association for more time.
“We hear what you are all saying,” Brown said. “I can assure you that these fields will be ready when you all need them.”
Brown also chided CTSA representatives for failing to mention the work that has been done to improve the park.
In response, CTSA members are now delivering to council members packets of information that include a copy of an ad that ran in The Duncan Banner Dec. 17, 2006, paid for by the league. That ad publicly thanked the city for the work that had been done on the soccer fields.
Other councilmen questioned what would happen if irrigation were delayed, if tools were available to do finish-grading and if the fields could be “rearranged” to better meet soccer needs. The questions were posed by Councilmen Tommy Edwards, Ricky Mayes and Michael Hale, respectively.
“I prefer that we go ahead with it,” Schoening responded to Edwards. “We’re not going to put topsoil on all those fields.”
To Mayes, Schoening responded no, the equipment for finish-grading that would remove all rock and debris and leave a level surface was not available.
He told Hale rearrangement of fields was possible.
“Without taking away from drainage, that’s a possibility,” he said.
Ultimately, the council voted to take no action on the item and tabled another Abe Raizen item that would have amended the master plan until the problems are addressed.
On March 14, three days after the council meeting, Hale and Schoening met with CTSA representatives at Abe Raizen to find out what, exactly, the needs of the association are for its fields and clear up any hanging questions.
“My intent is to figure out what the exact needs are, what the expectations are,” Schoening told the group.
Steve Gillispie, CTSA board member and field representative, told Schoening the fields could be made playable by leveling, removing the rocks and creating a slight slope that doesn’t affect ball play or safety, but still allows water to drain and prevents erosion.
Schoening agreed to begin the process of soliciting proposals for a grading plan for the entire soccer area, which would be the first step in addressing soccer’s woes.
“I’ll work right away to get a grading plan,” Schoening said.
The process will take some time. It might be September before the fields are completely leveled, Schoening said, then the irrigation system would follow and the seeding process would begin.
That means that soccer will continue to play on the baseball quads for a few more seasons, which will cause a delay in new fencing being placed in the baseball quads. The fencing is part of a contract with baseball. City officials say the agreement states the parks crews will work with the organization to get a new fence each season.
“I don’t think those fences can go in there as we talk about this,” Schoening said. “We can’t put the fencing in there until this is done.”
As the new plans are configured, soccer will continue as it has been for the last two years, playing in baseball and football territory.
Kathy Mead, CTSA president, said she felt the plans for Abe Raizen were moving in the right direction after meeting with the council.
“We opened the City Council’s eyes to the progress that wasn’t being done that they thought was,” she said. “As long as the City Council listens — and we’re not trying to run anything — even if it takes a little longer now to get finished, it will be right for the future.”
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