Mayor Kathleen King and Councilman Nick Streit were perceived as having a vested interest because they have children that play soccer. They removed themselves from the task force and were replaced by Councilwoman Aileen Kao and Vice Mayor Norman Kline.

The Kevin Moran Task Force includes two city council members, two user group members, two Saratoga residents at large and three neighborhood representatives. Kline and Kao are the council members, Howard Miller of AYSO and Mary Ann Escobar of CYSA are the user group representatives, Doug Robertson and Paul Jacobs represent the residents at large, and Peter Pranys, Marty Goldberg and Elaine Clabeaux are neighborhood representatives.

The task force will discuss the future of the park and then present a report to the city council during the first council meeting of 2006.

Conflicting demands for more fields for organized sports and the desire for serene neighborhood parks have turned Kevin Moran Park into a political hot potato. Changing lifestyles have increased the number of children who participate in a growing number of after-school sports. Baseball, football, soccer, lacrosse and cricket are placing a high demand on flat grass fields. A shortage of land available in Saratoga for practice and playing fields has made Kevin Moran Park a tempting location for new fields, particularly for regulation soccer fields.

But neighbors prefer the park the way it is. On Sept. 21, a procession of speakers presented opposing views on the future of the park, a process lasting late into the night. With an increase in demand for more flat grass fields projected into the future, a search for options was thrown onto the table during public hearings and discussions, including calls to use the Heritage Orchard as a possible site for fields.

For Kline, the best long-term solution was the formation of a Joint Powers Authority, which would work with neighboring communities to find playing fields.

Sandy Cross, a neighbor of Kevin Moran Park, has been objecting to new soccer fields there for 10 years. "It's a foregone conclusion," she said. "The city council wants soccer in this park. They say the need for more soccer fields is more important than the needs of a handful of neighbors. But there are 600 neighbors."

Cross said that the deck has been stacked on the task force against the neighbors. "We bought expensive homes over here," she said. "It is going to destroy our right to a quiet, peaceful neighborhood."

For Miller, the issue is that kids in Saratoga need flat grass practice and playing fields. While Kevin Moran Park is a suitable location, he said he remains open to other options short of people's front yards.

King said that with the task force formed, a process that was set up a year and a half ago could now begin. She hopes that compromises could be reached, but that whatever decision is made one group or the other is going to be unhappy.

"If this wasn't such a big park, then I could see it being a neighborhood park," King said. "But 10 acres is a big park. I personally hope to see a restroom, parking and flexible flat grass fields there."