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Practice makes perfect, but not when it comes to practice fields

By Shannon Burkey

West Valley College may have helped to solve the issue of soccer game fields in Saratoga, but the issue of practice fields is still a contentious one among those involved.

For years, soccer user groups and the neighbors of Kevin Moran Park have been embroiled in a battle over putting in a full-sized game field at the park.

But after the college and the city struck a deal that would allow the city's youth soccer organizations to use its field for Sunday games, both sides seemed to be on the same page.

With the need for a full-sized game field in the park gone, the neighbors agreed to a practice field in the park as part of a new redesign dubbed the "neighborhood plan" that would also include tennis courts, bocce ball courts, bathrooms and parking.

But instead of giving the go-ahead to the neighborhood plan that it approved in July, the council voted 3-2 at its Sept. 20 meeting to reconvene the original Kevin Moran Park Task Force, which includes advocates on both sides, and send members back to the drawing board. Both groups had hoped groups had hoped at this point the plans they had previously agreed upon would move forward to a design consultant.

"I am very disappointed at the whole progression of things. This process does not seem to have any integrity," said soccer advocate Laura Watkins, who said she thinks the process should be sailing along at this point.

With most of the other issues concerning the park's redesign solved, the only issue remaining is that of exactly what amount of flat grass constitutes a practice field. This is where the two sides disagree.

The soccer user groups want enough flat grass for all teams to practice on. But the neighborhood side would like to see a smaller amount of flat grass because of concerns a larger area would then turn into a game field.

During the council meeting, Mayor Norman Kline originally stated he wanted the design process moving forward and did not see a need to reconvene the task force. But after hearing from other council members and realizing there was a disagreement over the practice field, he voted to send it back to the task force.

"Sending it back to the task force is the most appropriate thing to do to solve this last remaining issue," Kline said. "The concern is that if the practice field is big enough for older kids to play on, it could be used to play games on for the younger kids."

But Watkins, who said she is fed up with the politics of the whole situation, disagrees. She said if the soccer users were told not to play games on the practice field, they would respect that.

"If they don't want people to play games there, we won't play there," Watkins said.

Councilwoman Ann Waltonsmith said that she felt sending it back to the task force was the only option at this point.

"It is obvious we are very close, but we still don't have a buy-in on both sides," she said. "We have to do this right, and to do this right means to go back to the public process."

But Councilman Nick Streit, who along with Councilwoman Kathleen King was one of the two dissenting votes, said the council should move forward.

"The last thing we need to do is send it back to a task force. The issue of practice space is getting more and more dire each day. We need to send this to a design consultant and let him come back with a plan," Streit said.

Elaine Clabeaux, who served on the original task force and will serve on the new one if asked, said she does not see a need for the plans to go back to the task force. She and the other members of the task force worked very hard to come to an agreement, and she said she is not sure where they will go from here. "We already voted on the plan; there should be no reason for debate. I don't know what we are going to accomplish. Why would we go there when we have already voted on it? I just don't see a win on this."

Marty Goldberg, who also served on the original task force, said he is OK with meeting again and feels they received a clear direction from the council.

"This is very much a direction of design and not concept so it should allow the task force to move forward very quickly, and I am happy to continue participating on it," Goldberg said.