Council Members Seem Inclined To Proceed At Congress Springs
Public supports plan, wants Pony League field
Council to vote Sept. 20
By Kara Chalmers
Because of a clerical glitch, the Saratoga City Council could not vote on a proposed renovation plan for Congress Springs Park--that the park's improvement task force recommended--at its meeting on Sept. 6. But all council members voiced their enthusiastic support for the plan anyway, as did many members of the public.
"I think this is a very exciting plan and I think the council should go forward with it as soon as possible, without more delay," said Tony Marsh, a Ronnie Way resident who has coached soccer and Little League and has children who have played those sports, as well. "We need to fix that field; it is in terrible shape."
Congress Springs Park, a 10-acre city park that hosts organized sports such as baseball and soccer for kids, will undergo a $1.2 million renovation next summer, to maximize the number of playfields at the park and to make the fields safer. The task force--made up of representatives of Saratoga Pony League, Saratoga Little League, the American Youth Soccer Organization, the city and the architects and consultants hired to design the new park--came up with a recommendation to best use the fields that already exist.
The plan calls for eight soccer fields, and when not in use for soccer, the park could hold three Little League baseball fields, two semi-permanent Little League fields and two T-ball fields, according to the plan.
The option, which includes eliminating the basketball court and tennis court at Congress Springs today, but keeping the playground, restrooms and parking area, was the best compromise between baseball and soccer, Cherbone said.
The city's Parks and Recreation Commission voted on Aug. 28, to recommend this plan to the council.
But the plan does not include a field for Saratoga Pony League, comprised of 39 players, ages 13-14, that now uses the baseball field closest to Glen Brae Drive at Congress Springs.
According to John Cherbone, Saratoga's public works director and Congress Springs task force member, the task force partly chose to replace the current Pony League field with a Little League field since there are more Little League players--between 450 and 500--in Saratoga Little League. Also, a Pony League field, which is smaller than a high school baseball field but larger than a Little League field, would encroach into the soccer field planned for that location. Finally, baseballs might be hit onto Highway 85 from the now substandard outfields of the Pony League field, creating a potential liability for the city.
But Cherbone said at the meeting on Sept. 6, that the task force was exploring the use of fields at Saratoga High School and West Valley College for relocating the Pony League field, and that the city has written use agreements with Little League and AYSO only. He said that he feels confident that Pony League will have a new home next season.
Matt Durket, the director of the Pony level for the League, noted at the Sept. 6 meeting that Pony League is a major feeder for high school baseball athletes and the city would experience a great loss if there was not a league in Saratoga. He also said that Pony League, while it would like to stay at Congress Springs Park, would not mind moving to another city park.
Some speakers at the Sept. 6 meeting chastised the city for proceeding with a plan that did not provide a definite location for a Pony League field.
"I'm here again like most others to support this project but most importantly to underscore the importance of finding a home for this Pony League," said resident and Little League coach, Dave Bayly. "This is an excellent program; we can not pull the rug out from under these kids."
In August, the task force and the parks and recreation commission decided to recommend turning the field at El Quito--today used for adult softball--into a Pony League field. But neighbors of El Quito opposed the plans so the commission dismissed the idea of moving the field to El Quito.
"I guess what I'd like to challenge is the notion that neighborhoods have complete say over how the parks are used," said Michaels Drive resident, Gordon Spencer. "Those parks and playgrounds are there for the use of the city of Saratoga, not just the people who live nearby."
To applause from the audience, resident Peter Fletcher noted his longer-term concerns that he has about the lack of facilities, parks and fields to support sports for children in Saratoga.
"We are told that there are no parks available, that there's no land available to build on," Fletcher said. "I don't buy that."
One new development is that the California Youth Soccer Association, CYSA, desires to have dedicated practice fields at Congress Springs, something they do not have now. Some of the speakers at the council meeting on Sept. 6, urged the council to support the Congress Springs plan, but not to forget the needs of CYSA, a soccer league that is a bit more competitive than AYSO.
Since the park agenda item was accidentally marked "informational only," and the mistake was not caught in time to post a revised agenda, the council could only hear public testimony and discuss the plan. The council will vote on it at the meeting on Sept. 20, and, if the Sept. 6 discussion was any indication, the council will vote favorably.
Saratoga, California Since 1955
