7/25/13
The condition of Badger Park's sports field was brought up during "Matters From The Floor" at Monday night's council meeting. See: http://lmcc.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?publish_id=614bd76d-45e8-1031-bc96-29b50f2ba9d1 and item #4 on the agenda.
One resident stated that he coaches football and Badger field is the worst one in the Minnetonka sports area. He said that for the past two years, large parts of the field have been dirt, not turf. He also asked what the plans for the field might be.
Staff replied that the Parks Commission has been working on a redevelopment plan for Badger park and the field for more than one year. Seems that Council will see a recommendation for changes at the August 12th meeting. One change appears to be reorienting the field to north/south from its current east/west orientation.
The Insider recalls concern expressed by some council members about the cost of a Badger rework. So, what to you the readers think about spending money on Badger and its field. Should the field be a showplace? There appears to be some funding in the City's capital plan for the work, but readers might recall that the Parks Capital Fund will run out of money in the next couple of years if spending occurs per the capital plan.
Should more capital money go into parks and Badger? If yes, where does it come from?
Happy Reading!
The Insider
This demand is nothing new from sports organizations. Here is what city policy says: the city provides the space and basic infrastructure.
ReplyDeleteSpecific private organizations that want improvements can present a plan along with the cost--which the organization pays.
Once those improvements are made, the organization signs the improvements over to the city (in other words donates them).
Before accepting those improvements, which may involve long-term maintenance costs (i.e. the proposed hockey dome in Freeman several years ago), the Park Commission should have a thoughtful discussion as to the cost to the city of sustaining the "donation" and how it will affect the Parks long-term capital budget.