06/20/2005: "Need Athletic Fields, But Need Better Access"

ig_SJSD_PublicMeet_06-16-05 (40k image)

Over a hundred citizens showed up for a public meeting to give input to the SJ District School Board on two questions

• How much does the community want additional athletic fields?
• How can we resolve the issues about access?

The answers from the public were clear on the basic questions. In a call for a show of hands, no one in the standing room crowd voted against the need for additional athletic fields. While the support for the fields was unanimous, the general consensus on access to the land was that the matter needs to carefully looked at to find an access that will have the least possible negative impacts on the surrounding properties.

Over forty citizens spoke at the meeting, and while the comments occasionally ranged into areas beyond the two questions on the table, John Linde, acting as the moderator, was able to keep -so to speak- everyone's eye on the ball.

The introduction to the hearing was given by Dr, Soltman, the Superintendent of the District, and consisted of a short history of the project, with an update on the current status of the proposed project. One comment from Dr. Soltman that at first appeared to have the potential to confuse the debate, was his statement that the District did not need additional fields to meet the needs of the school. However it quickly became clear the Board was willing to allow additional athletic fields to be built by the private sector on school property, if it could be accomplished without siphoning capital or operating funds from the District. And if -a big if- the surrounding properties owners concerns could be addressed to their satisfaction.

The proposal is to build the fields using private money, and donations of labor and materials. Part of the impetus for the meeting was a stated concern by the organizers of the project that unless the project was quickly approved, a commitment of tens of thousands of dollars of sand and gravel from the gravel pit might be lost. A number of speakers who urged the Board to move slowly and carefully in designing access to the property, also urged the Board to move quickly on stockpiling material on the site, before the opportunity to have it at no cost to the District was lost.

As previously reported in The Guardian, San Juan island resident Don Galt has been organizing and obtaining both work and money commitments from San Juan island citizens to build a number of ballparks and playing fields. The fields are to be constructed on public property owned by the school district, and are to be used for both the community and the school district.

A large monetary boost was given to the project when Mr. Galt recently received a check for $50,000 dollars from a donor who wishes to remain, at least for the time being, unknown. But if this was a boost, the brakes were gently applied by the school district when it became concerned about possible opposition to the project.

According to a June 8th press release from the San Juan Island School District (read the full statement at the end of this story), the drive to have new school ball fields built on school property by the private sector, and at no cost to the tax payer, has reached an "impasse" due to possible objections from the neighbors that will have their streets used to access the school property. In the press release entitled "CARTER AVENUE FIELD DEVELOPMENT PLANNING AT IMPASSE", the statement gave a short history of the project to date, and then got to the main point of the district's concern that the District " ..maintain the support of our entire community to pass a capital projects levy (likely to be on the ballot this fall), and renew the operating levy next spring. We have tried our best to make the land accessible for community use of community fields, but at this point the school district cannot move any further with this project unless the project is welcomed by our community and the neighborhoods through which access is guaranteed".

Full Press Release Follows:

PRESS RELEASE – JUNE 8, 2005

"CARTER AVENUE FIELD DEVELOPMENT PLANNING AT IMPASSE"

For the past several months the school district has worked collaboratively with a broad coalition of community groups to design and begin implementation of a plan to develop athletic fields for community use on the 30 acres of school property off Carter Avenue. The coalition has included representatives from Island Rec., the Town of Friday Harbor, Little League, Lacrosse, San Juan Soccer, Tiger Football, and a multitude of adult users who use our fields for softball, soccer, ultimate frizbee, etc. However, we now we face an impasse in our planning that can only be addressed through the creativity and goodwill of the community as a whole.

In order to move forward with this project, access to the site has to be established and guaranteed. While at first there seemed to be several possibilities available, these options have narrowed to an entrance at Carter/Larson or an entrance through Beaverton Valley Road via Larson and Fox Hall. An emergency exit can legally be established through Coho drive in the Village Grove Development. All of these neighborhoods are expressing varying levels of opposition to the project mainly due to the prospect of increased traffic. Clearly, access must come from somewhere for this property to be utilized for athletic fields. One other entrance option, Roche Harbor Road via the Town & Country Mobile Home Park, may be a possibility but it is subject to ongoing negotiations with the property owner with no sure result in sight.

A large part of the support and enthusiasm for the project is due to the involvement of Don Galt, President of the Friday Harbor Athletic Association, who has consistently vetted the project and garnered donations of funds, labor, and materials. Don has essentially volunteered to develop these community fields at no cost to the public and it is due to his dogged persistence that we have come as far as we have. However, he has become increasingly concerned about loss of potential donations, including the sand offered by LaFarge, due to delays in getting the project underway.

In 1997, when voters approved the purchase of property off Carter Avenue as a site for a future school, the school district also agreed to address the community's need for athletic fields on that property. Several months ago, when the gravel pit option for fields was essentially turned down by the voters, the District held a public meeting inviting county and town officials, representatives of various athletic associations, and concerned citizens to discuss the use of the District's property for the development of athletic facilities. The general consensus of that meeting was that we should proceed with the project, with the understanding that the District itself could not devote any funds towards to the project. Furthermore, it was emphasized at that time that the schools had no need for additional fields—which is still the case—and that it was due to the community's needs that we agreed to engage in the process.

While the school district wants to be responsive to the community's needs and to our commitment to make the Carter Avenue land available for field development, we simply cannot afford to become embroiled in neighborhood controversies about the development of these athletic fields. The school district is currently addressing critical budgetary issues and the very quality of our academic and co-curricular programs are at stake. It is imperative to the financial well-being of our school district and the programs and services we offer, that we maintain the support of our entire community to pass a capital projects levy (likely to be on the ballot this fall), and renew the operating levy next spring. We have tried our best to make the land accessible for community use of community fields, but at this point the school district cannot move any further with this project unless the project is welcomed by our community and the neighborhoods through which access is guaranteed.