Question from Anonymous

Dear Mayor, I appreciate your participation in a forum like this. I find the comments you have received concerning the current state of affairs at the park interesting. I think it is obvious why the adult softball leagues have been in decline the last couple of years and I am confident that you and the city leaders will address that issue very soon. My question to you is concerning the new park expansion plans. It appears that the plan is to eliminate the current Tee Ball field and build two new adult softball fields. This is in addition to the two adult fields that are already at the park. I know that the city views those adult softball fields as "multi-purpose" fields and believe that they are flexible and versatile and will accommodate everyone………adult softball…… youth softball ……... and youth baseball……….but the fact is…… there is a huge difference in an adult softball field and a youth softball/baseball field. An adult softball field is a 90 foot diamond with 300+ foot fences and a youth softball/baseball field is a 60 foot diamond with 200 foot fences. That is a big difference to a 5, 6, 7, or 8 year old. For the second consecutive year the parks department has not been able to organize an adult softball program (church league or industrial league) but the new park plan calls for two more fields that will accommodate adult softball leagues and eliminate one of the two youth fields that we currently have at the park. Mr. Mayor, I don’t understand that. All I can figure is that someone at city hall has gotten excited about the movie “Field of Dreams” and really believes that if you build it… they will come, because the best I can tell adult softball is done in Berea. During this same period of time the youth baseball and softball programs in Berea have flourished growing from 400 kids in 2004 to over 600 kids in 2006. Every night the park is full of families…….moms, dads, grandparents, bothers, sisters, and neighbors all socializing and watching their children play baseball and softball. I also believe this is the type of crowd the city would want occupying the park on a nightly basis……..youth baseball and softball games is the biggest community event we have in Berea. Yes, the city provides a quality park facility, even though it could be more accommodating for the youth programs with more youth size fields. The plans to expand the park are really exciting and most of the ideas are really good but I hope the city will pay closer attention to the real needs of the user groups. To me, the park expansion is an opportunity for the city to invest in their largest and most reliable user group and build more youth size fields for our kids. Fields that are 60 foot diamonds and 200 feet fences. When you watch the 7 & 8 year olds playing on one of those adult softball fields you know right away that it's not right. The outfielders are actually position in the dirt infield of the adult softball diamond. It appears to me that the new park expansion plans didn’t even take this into consideration. My hope is that the new park plan will be revisited and I would love see the current baseball/softball complex be dedicated to youth softball/baseball only, especially if two new adult fields will be built, and I believe the costs to make those accommodations would be very minimal. Field #1 and Field #4 are already great fields for the youth programs and no additional work would be needed. Field #2 and Field #3 are currently “multi functional” fields and I would like to see those fields redone with 60 foot diamonds and 200 foot fences which would accommodate the youth softball and baseball leagues, as well as the middle and high school softball teams. I also believe if Field #2 & #3 were adjust to a 60 foot diamond and the fences moved in to 200 feet that would free up enough space behind those two fields to build a couple of practice diamonds, nothing fancy just simple practice diamonds. If the city is really taking all the user groups needs into consideration with the new park plans…….then it is obvious that the community needs practice diamonds for our youth softball and baseball teams. All you have to do is drive by the park on any given weekday night and see the evidence of that need. With that being said here are my questions for you: Why isn’t the city involving the user groups in the planning of the park and giving more consideration for the needs of the youth baseball and softball leagues? Why would we reduce the number of youth fields by eliminating the Tee Ball field and build two more adult softball fields when the youth program is growing and the adult softball league is defunct? Why would we build practice fields for football that may have 300 kids playing in youth, middle and high school football combined and not build some practice diamonds for youth baseball and softball that have over 600 kids playing? Has the city visted any other regional communities to review their parks? My final comment…………I am not sure where our city administrator has gotten his facts qouted in the article on the homepage of this website concerning the Tee Ball and baseball participation………but the demand for Tee Ball has never been volatile……..the participation numbers have never gone down……..I been involved with the youth programs for many years and I have never know the number to be less than 125 kids and the numbers currently stand at 150 Tee Ball players. I encourage you to seek more input of the leaders of the Berea Youth League with your plans for the park expansion………to my knowledge no dialogue has taken place or nor has it been encouraged. Thank you in advance for your comments.

Steve Connelly answered:

You make a number of good points. I think that council is considering a proposal along these lines. I will ask that the youth league be kept advised and asked to comment.