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color=#000000>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?</FONT></SPAN></FONT></SPAN></DIV>
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Clabough</SPAN></FONT></SPAN></DIV><BR>
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<FONT face=Tahoma size=2><B>From:</B> vision2020-bounces@moscow.com
[mailto:vision2020-bounces@moscow.com] <B>On Behalf Of </B>Donovan
Arnold<BR><B>Sent:</B> Wednesday, December 07, 2005 2:52 PM<BR><B>To:</B> Tom
Ivie; vision2020@moscow.com<BR><B>Subject:</B> Re: [Vision2020]
Playfields<BR></FONT><BR></DIV>
<DIV></DIV>
<DIV id=RTEContent>Tom,<BR><BR>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?<BR><BR>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. <BR><BR>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. <BR><BR>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?<BR><BR>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. <BR><BR>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.<BR><BR>-Take Care,<BR><BR>Donovan J Arnold<BR><BR><BR><BR><B><I>Tom Ivie
<the_ivies3@yahoo.com></I></B> wrote:
<BLOCKQUOTE class=replbq
style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: rgb(16,16,255) 2px solid">
<DIV>Jeff, </DIV>
<DIV>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<BR><BR><B><I>Jeff Harkins <jeffh@moscow.com></I></B> wrote:</DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE class=replbq
style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: rgb(16,16,255) 2px solid">After
watching ! the "playfield issue" for several weeks now, some
observations:<BR><BR>1. Youth sports activities are an important element of
a family <BR>oriented community. Having survived youth soccer for several
years <BR>(as a licensed coach, licensed referee, soccer association board
<BR>member and co-founder of the Palouse 5-a-side soccer tournament), I
<BR>can easily attest to the importance of additional playfields to meet
<BR>the demand for youth and community activities. Hours and hours of
<BR>negotiation with Parks and Rec, U of I, and churches were necessary
<BR>to find marginal practice and play areas for youth soccer. Similar
<BR>negotiations were necessary for community members involved in
<BR>softball, baseball, cross country, etc. There are more youth
<BR>involved in those activities today than there were when I was
<BR>actively participating.<BR><BR>2. With youth soccer, the N. Idaho league
is very-well established <BR>(Coeur d'Alene, Post Falls, Tri-Cities,
Lewiston, Spok! ane). Our <BR>facilities are not on a par with those
communities against which the <BR>Moscow teams compete. New soccer fields
would help to increase the <BR>number of venues we are able to host here.
That not only benefits <BR>our local businesses (and gets young folks in
proximity to U of I, <BR>but also helps our local parents - additional
fields could make it <BR>possible for our teams to host a few more venues so
our parents and <BR>kids have a few less trips out of town. I have heard
from numerous <BR>parents, whose kids are involved in other active team
sports, <BR>expressing similar views.<BR><BR>3. My former residence
(Conestoga Dr) is just up the hill from the <BR>proposed location and I am
quite familiar with the terrain/proximity <BR>issues. The proposed location
would seem to be ideally suited to <BR>allow the hundreds of young folks and
active adults in the Frontier <BR>and adjacent neighborhoods easy access to
a ! large playfield. It would <BR>be a site well-suited! to anecdoctal
frisbee playing, tag, pickup <BR>games, skateboarding, etc. in addition to
active team sports. It <BR>also has great visibility from Palouse River
Drive so activities of <BR>the young folks would be observable.
Coincidentally, I vividly <BR>recall how important the development of the
small park - just east of <BR>proposed site - was to the neighborhood.
Dozens of neighbors worked <BR>to make that small strip park happen. But
that site is ill-equipped <BR>to handle the more active youth team
sports.<BR><BR>4. The site location would lend itself to development of a
bike trail <BR>extension - connecting with the existing trail system - this
would <BR>likely have great appeal to the community.<BR><BR>5. Moscow is
very well suited to handling a couple of hundred <BR>visitors for a youth
team event. After all, our community hosts a <BR>number of athletic events
weekly that attract thousands of visitors <BR>(UI team sport! s)- and it
doesn't seem to affect the overa! ll ambiance <BR>of our life here in a
college town. Quite the contrary, it seems to <BR>energize our community. If
there are concerns about traffic flow, <BR>then bring some of our local
civil engineers in to reframe the <BR>access/egress issues. But the limited
amount of traffic involved, <BR>relative to the traffic issues that are
presented in that <BR>neighborhood during football weekends is seemingly
trivial.<BR><BR>6. The sound system issue seems quite easy to resolve. We
have <BR>numerous sound engineers in the community - engage them to design
and <BR>test various configurations and measure the decibel levels in the
<BR>neighboring areas. I am quite confident that the sound level can be
<BR>designed to specifications that would produce sound at levels far
<BR>below other noise systems (Greek Row, Kibbie Dome, etc.).<BR><BR>I
cannot help but think about the success of the LCSC participation <BR>in
baseball and the benefits that venue! has provided to the Lewiston <B!
r>area. I have visited their baseball stadium (a far more extensive
<BR>facility than proposed here) and have walked the neighborhood around
<BR>their facility. The noise emanating from that facility is far less
<BR>than the noise levels imposed on East City Park neighbors numerous
<BR>times a year. But, the benefits of all those folks having fun far
<BR>outweigh the costs imposed by their facility - it seems likely that a
<BR>similar experience could be had here.<BR><BR>7. I am quite surprised by
the "Arboretum issue". The Arboretum is <BR>not a private park intended for
only a designated segment of the <BR>Moscow community. It is a public
facility that is intended to <BR>educate the public about the importance of
managed green space <BR>areas. Providing visitors to our community close
proximity to the <BR>Arboretum, especially young people, helps to expose
them to the <BR>importance of the green-space resource. A playfield space
adjacent <BR>to ! the Arboretum provides an oppor! tunity to extend the
Arboretum into <BR>the playfield area. This may be our best chance to
develop our own <BR>version of a "Julia Davis" resource.<BR><BR>But, bottom
line, the Arboretum is a shared resource and the more we <BR>can share it,
the more people will learn from it and respect it - and <BR>more than likely
provide resources to continue its development. The <BR>proposed athletic
facility would offer the Arboretum an opportunity <BR>to extend the managed
"green space" to include a river/stream ecosystem. Wow!<BR><BR>8. Finally,
consider the long-term development of the Palouse River <BR>Drive area. It
is not a matter of whether that area will develop, <BR>but how and what will
find its way into that corridor. Placing a <BR>large "green space" there can
be a significant footprint that will <BR>impact that neighborhood in very
positive ways. For example, if the <BR>95 bypass can be constructed just
west of there (along the ID/WA <BR>border)! , traffic issues are now routed!
away from this site. Access <BR>would be convenient for all. Industrial
development would be <BR>curtailed or at least divided/segmented.<BR><BR>The
proposed project warrants approval - amend what needs to be <BR>amended to
deal with pertinent issues - and get the facility into
play.<BR><BR><BR><BR>_____________________________________________________<BR>List
services made available by First Step Internet, <BR>serving the communities
of the Palouse since 1994. <BR>http://www.fsr.net
<BR>mailto:Vision2020@moscow.com<BR>ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ<BR></BLOCKQUOTE>
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Palouse since ! 1994. <BR>http://www.fsr.net
<BR>mailto:Vision2020@moscow.com<BR>ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ<BR></BLOCKQUOTE><BR></DIV>
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