[Vision2020] Playfields

Wed Dec 7 18:16:06 PST 2005

To make this statement, "The City of Moscow does not need to build another park, ball field, or athletic facility, we got PLENTY.", implies that you know how many teams and fields there are in town.  Would you tell me how many baseball fields with a realistic game-ready infield/outfield there are in town and how many teams use those throughout the year?

Shawn Clabough

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From: vision2020-bounces at moscow.com [mailto:vision2020-bounces at moscow.com] On Behalf Of Donovan Arnold
Sent: Wednesday, December 07, 2005 2:52 PM
To: Tom Ivie; vision2020 at moscow.com
Subject: Re: [Vision2020] Playfields

Tom,

We already have a skate board park, soccer field, baseball field, frisbee golf course and rock climbing wall in this town. Why not build something NEW that we do not have?  How about a  go-cart track,  bowling ally, a miniature golf course, or how about a virtual reality arcade, bungee jumping tower, a larger senior center with a track of land for gardening? Why not a arts and crafts center for the community to learn about and share their arts and crafts, a place where community members can come together and spend  time together talking about something other  than politics? Or how about a  senior day care center, they are popping up all over the US, places where younger than school age children get to spend time with senior citizens. This has proved to be beneficial to both the children and the seniors. How about a cultural teleconference center where we can talk to people from around the world v! ia the internet in live video conferences and learn about other societies?

I will not support another ball field or playground before we start doing somethings for other members of our community. I am tired of everything being about the young athletes in our community who are limited in Idaho only by their imaginations. So many, the majority of people in our community, are limited in what they can do by outdoor conditions, aging bones, joints and minds, and limited resources, yet we give them virtually nothing. It is a shameful reality. 

The City of Moscow does not need to build another climbing wall, we you can go climb a wall, tree, or go use the one in SRC. The City of Moscow does not need to build another park, ball field, or athletic facility, we got PLENTY. It needs something for those that are not young or athletic those that have nothing but the library which is understaffed, under-booked, and underfunded. 

Why can't the disabled! , poor, unathletic, uncoordinated, dorkish, nerdy, wobbly jointed, elderly, non-sportsman and women be given something besides the bill for the multi-million dollar athletic facilities with a large side of guilt for not supporting another new multi-million dollar athletic facility for athletes?

I live next to four parks in Moscow, East City, Whitman, St. Joseph, and another little one in the next neighborhood over. Of I all the times I driven, walked, or seen them, they are hardly, if ever full or crowded, and if they are, it is for a short event. 

I think there are so many better ways to spend city dollars than on a place for the moving of a ball back and forth.

-Take Care,

Donovan J Arnold

Tom Ivie <the_ivies3 at yahoo.com> wrote: 

	Jeff, 
	A couple of points you made! stood out to me.  Specifically, in number 3 you mention skateboarding.  I don't remember there being a skateboard feature to this big park, but it is an excellent idea.  Maybe even a rock climbing feature (Moscow Rocks!) and a frisbee golf course. We should remember that not all athletes play soccer, baseball, football, etc.  Many do, but they also cross-over, ie. football and rock climbing, or, soccer/baseball and skateboarding for example. It has been awhile since I saw the plan for the park, did it have any basketball hoops? If not, it should. The park would be made even better by your recommendation in number 4.  A trail that off-shoots from the main Paradise Path to the park would give better access, and probably safer access, for kids and adults alike. -Tom

	Jeff Harkins <jeffh at moscow.com> wrote:

		After watching ! the "playfield issue" for several weeks now, some observations:

		1. Youth sports activities are an important element of a family 
		oriented community. Having survived youth soccer for several years 
		(as a licensed coach, licensed referee, soccer association board 
		member and co-founder of the Palouse 5-a-side soccer tournament), I 
		can easily attest to the importance of additional playfields to meet 
		the demand for youth and community activities. Hours and hours of 
		negotiation with Parks and Rec, U of I, and churches were necessary 
		to find marginal practice and play areas for youth soccer. Similar 
		negotiations were necessary for community members involved in 
		softball, baseball, cross country, etc. There are more youth 
		involved in those activities today than there were when I was 
		actively participating.

		2. With youth soccer, the N. Idaho league is very-well established 
		(Coeur d'Alene, Post Falls, Tri-Cities, Lewiston, Spok! ane). Our 
		facilities are not on a par with those communities against which the 
		Moscow teams compete. New soccer fields would help to increase the 
		number of venues we are able to host here. That not only benefits 
		our local businesses (and gets young folks in proximity to U of I, 
		but also helps our local parents - additional fields could make it 
		possible for our teams to host a few more venues so our parents and 
		kids have a few less trips out of town. I have heard from numerous 
		parents, whose kids are involved in other active team sports, 
		expressing similar views.

		3. My former residence (Conestoga Dr) is just up the hill from the 
		proposed location and I am quite familiar with the terrain/proximity 
		issues. The proposed location would seem to be ideally suited to 
		allow the hundreds of young folks and active adults in the Frontier 
		and adjacent neighborhoods easy access to a ! large playfield. It would 
		be a site well-suited! to anecdoctal frisbee playing, tag, pickup 
		games, skateboarding, etc. in addition to active team sports. It 
		also has great visibility from Palouse River Drive so activities of 
		the young folks would be observable. Coincidentally, I vividly 
		recall how important the development of the small park - just east of 
		proposed site - was to the neighborhood. Dozens of neighbors worked 
		to make that small strip park happen. But that site is ill-equipped 
		to handle the more active youth team sports.

		4. The site location would lend itself to development of a bike trail 
		extension - connecting with the existing trail system - this would 
		likely have great appeal to the community.

		5. Moscow is very well suited to handling a couple of hundred 
		visitors for a youth team event. After all, our community hosts a 
		number of athletic events weekly that attract thousands of visitors 
		(UI team sport! s)- and it doesn't seem to affect the overa! ll ambiance 
		of our life here in a college town. Quite the contrary, it seems to 
		energize our community. If there are concerns about traffic flow, 
		then bring some of our local civil engineers in to reframe the 
		access/egress issues. But the limited amount of traffic involved, 
		relative to the traffic issues that are presented in that 
		neighborhood during football weekends is seemingly trivial.

		6. The sound system issue seems quite easy to resolve. We have 
		numerous sound engineers in the community - engage them to design and 
		test various configurations and measure the decibel levels in the 
		neighboring areas. I am quite confident that the sound level can be 
		designed to specifications that would produce sound at levels far 
		below other noise systems (Greek Row, Kibbie Dome, etc.).

		I cannot help but think about the success of the LCSC participation 
		in baseball and the benefits that venue! has provided to the Lewiston area. I have visited their baseball stadium (a far more extensive 
		facility than proposed here) and have walked the neighborhood around 
		their facility. The noise emanating from that facility is far less 
		than the noise levels imposed on East City Park neighbors numerous 
		times a year. But, the benefits of all those folks having fun far 
		outweigh the costs imposed by their facility - it seems likely that a 
		similar experience could be had here.

		7. I am quite surprised by the "Arboretum issue". The Arboretum is 
		not a private park intended for only a designated segment of the 
		Moscow community. It is a public facility that is intended to 
		educate the public about the importance of managed green space 
		areas. Providing visitors to our community close proximity to the 
		Arboretum, especially young people, helps to expose them to the 
		importance of the green-space resource. A playfield space adjacent 
		to ! the Arboretum provides an oppor! tunity to extend the Arboretum into 
		the playfield area. This may be our best chance to develop our own 
		version of a "Julia Davis" resource.

		But, bottom line, the Arboretum is a shared resource and the more we 
		can share it, the more people will learn from it and respect it - and 
		more than likely provide resources to continue its development. The 
		proposed athletic facility would offer the Arboretum an opportunity 
		to extend the managed "green space" to include a river/stream ecosystem. Wow!

		8. Finally, consider the long-term development of the Palouse River 
		Drive area. It is not a matter of whether that area will develop, 
		but how and what will find its way into that corridor. Placing a 
		large "green space" there can be a significant footprint that will 
		impact that neighborhood in very positive ways. For example, if the 
		95 bypass can be constructed just west of there (along the ID/WA 
		border)! , traffic issues are now routed! away from this site. Access 
		would be convenient for all. Industrial development would be 
		curtailed or at least divided/segmented.

		The proposed project warrants approval - amend what needs to be 
		amended to deal with pertinent issues - and get the facility into play.

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