Saratoga News Council hears long-awaited presentation on playfields Many residents turn out to argue both pro and con Decision is due in March By Steve Enders It was supposed to be a Saratoga City Council meeting designed, in part, to take in a long-awaited presentation by a city-hired consultant on how the city should proceed with building playing fields at four sites in the city. But before the presentation ever got off the ground on Jan. 26, resident after resident gave a pitch to the council pleading both for and against the fields, especially the field reconstruction under consideration at Marshall Lane Elementary School. After the dust settled, more than 25 residents, mostly from the Marshall Lane area, had their say--most repeating to councilmembers time after time the need to consider the potential for increased traffic around Marshall Lane. Nearly three hours later, the council finally was able to do what it had assembled to do, as residents still continued to press both the consultant and the council with questions pointed mostly to traffic safety issues. Some residents also expressed concern that they had not had an opportunity to provide information to the Playfields Development Task Force, which has held many meetings over the past nine months around the city to take comments from the public. City staff and task force representatives repeatedly told the audience that no one has been excluded and that the public will be heard again at upcoming public hearings. The meeting on Jan. 26 wasn't supposed to be a public debate on the issue but a chance for the council to get information from its consultant. Residents were scheduled to have their say at a public hearing before the city's Parks and Recreation Commission Feb. 1. At that meeting, the commission was scheduled to make a recommendation on the playfields to the City Council, which will likely rule on the matter after further public hearings sometime in March. City-hired landscape consultant Jay Beals, despite pleas for traffic safety, wasn't prepared to deal with traffic issues. Rather, he was hired to figure out how to best renovate the fields and how maintenance costs and responsibilities can be shared by the city, local school districts and the users of the fields. "The traffic situation in a locked-in neighborhood like Marshall Lane needs to be resolved," Beals said. "There are answers for that, and it wasn't our charge to answer it. When all the studies are done, they'll find ways to mitigate the traffic issue." Beals told the council that the burden and cost of maintaining the fields can be split by entering into agreements with the Campbell, Saratoga and Cupertino school districts, which operate three of the four playfield sites. The city will also have to form similar contracts with the users, which include soccer leagues and Quito Little League, to maintain the fields. The playfields proposal includes renovating or completely rebuilding the turf at Congress Springs Park, Blue Hills Elementary, Marshall Lane Elementary and Foothill Elementary. Beals also said that the user groups and school districts are willing to help maintain whatever fields are built. When referring to costs of the project, Beals told the council that costs to the city will decrease significantly because of the help it will likely get. Still, the overall cost of the project to the city will be nearly $2.1 million, which will be paid for from park development funds. Beals also suggested the creation of a nonprofit organization that could raise funds and volunteer its members to help keep the fields and parks in good shape. He said such organizations have been successful in neighboring cities that have recently upgraded their fields. The council heard that the fields are in such disrepair that they're almost unsafe. "The clay soil that we have around here does real good for fruit trees, but not so good with so many little feet pounding on it," Beals said, while explaining the extraordinary amount of wear a field sees in its lifetime. Beals said that he's spoken with one maintenance company which will guarantee that, if it is awarded a contract, the fields will have a lifespan of 20 to 25 years. [ Back to Contents Page | Saratoga News Home Page | Archives ] This article appeared in the Saratoga News, February 3, 1999. ©1999 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.