[RP TownTalk] turf field

[Dwight Holmes]

This thread is bringing up lots of issues in my mind -- things I've
not thought much about and have little knowledge of as well...
thinking about it raises all sorts of questions in my mind, such as:

Q: the Park is maintained through our tax dollars (i'd figured that
the Parks & Planning levy represented about 14% of our property tax
bill last year).  the parks are presumably "county" parks rather than
municipal ones.  when the park lies within town boundaries, as
Anacostia Park does, does the town have any direct say in these
matters beyond the collective voice of its individual citizens? what
is the process for making these decisions?

Q: does it strike anyone else as odd that a private-religious school
(Dematha) should get regular use of a publicly-funded facility like
Anacostia Park?  Do they contribute something towards the maintenance
and upkeep (I presume they pay no taxes as a religious institution?)

Q: why is use of Field of Dreams restricted to those with permits
only? is this a legal, CYA thing?

++
anecdotally speaking, we are frequent users of the Northeast Branch
Trail which takes us through Anacostia Park regularly. weekends bring
throngs of picnickers there -- there's some industrial-sized
barbequeing going on there, i can assure you!  and it seems like most
of the fields get regular use as well.  i've frequently commented that
it's a pleasure to see our public parks get used.  (Field of Dreams,
on the other hand, seems to get relatively little use. I do see some
organized activities in after school hours from time to time).

Dwight

On 6/15/07, Alan Thompson and Sarah Wayland <twacks at his.com> wrote:
>
> [Sarah here, speaking only for myself.]
>
> I agree completely regarding the permitting and the lights - is the idea to
> convert our park into a professional sports complex? I feel like that's
> where we are heading....
>
> When I go to the park on weekends, I often see families playing pick up
> soccer on the field. The Town has has a sign posted at the Field of Dreams
> saying that a permit is required to use the park, which means no one uses it
> any more.  Now we are planning to take this other place for pick up soccer
> away? It makes me sad. When you take away places for fun constructive
> activities away, what are people left to do? Not everyone can join a league,
> and pay fees to rent space at a park...
>
>
> I also do not like artificial turf. Why don't we just put a bunch of asphalt
> down on the field? It has the same environmental costs - including taking
> away permeable surfaces, generating heat (150 degrees??), etc.
>
> How much does it cost to adequately prepare the soil, and reseed the field
> with grass every year? $750,000 over 15 years? That's $50,000 per year!  It
> seems to me like there's a lot of maintenance you could do for that price.
>
> As some of you know, I am also not a fan of artificial light. If I lived
> near that park, I would find those blinding halogen lights unbearable. We
> have enough light pollution in this area - I miss seeing the stars at night.
> My children don't even know what a constellation is - we can only see the
> stars when we go on vacation. I would hate to see our park contributing to
> that problem.
>
> Just my 2 cents....
>
> -Sarah Wayland
>  4711 Sheridan Street

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