First Recreation Town Hall Meeting Held

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The City of Maricopa’s Parks, Recreation and Libraries (PRL) Department director Martin McDonald and the newly appointed members of the PRL Advisory Committee were on hand last night for the first in a series of Recreation Town Hall meetings. The purpose of the meeting was to solicit public input for Maricopa’s proposed first city park and as well as for future parks.

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Advisory Committee members (left to right) Scott Bartle, David Aviles, Mary Lou Smith, PRL director Martin McDonald, Craig Younger, Aime Boekhout and Dan Conlon. (Dawn Madden was unable to attend.)

Element Homes has offered to donate approximately 19 acres of land on Porter Road just south of Honeycutt, the grading of the site, and all architectural, engineering and landscape drawings and plans. In addition, the company would provide $2.4 million in amenities that the City of Maricopa would pay back upon the park’s completion with the balance carried by Element Homes for up to five years. “Element Homes has a little bit stronger buying power than the city right now,” explained Mr. McDonald.

Plans for the proposed park as well as a list of scheduled amenities include:

Proposed Time Line
Design Development of the park plans: November 2004 to March 2005
Working drawings: February 2005 to July 2005
Ground Breaking: Summer 2005
Substantial Completion: August/September 2006

Park Amenities
2 softball fields (dirt skin, 300′ perimeter fence, base pegs at 60, 65 feet)
2 USYSA regulation soccer fields (165′ x 300′; can be used for football)
2.5 acre lake consisting of effluent water (builder requirement)
2 outdoor basketball courts
2 volleyball courts
1 large pre-teen playground
1 small tot lot
1 sports ramada with restrooms for both men and women
1 lake ramada
50-60 parking spaces
2 water meters: one for the HOA, one for the City of Maricopa

The second half of the meeting was directed to the residents in attendance. “I’ll open the meeting up. Give thoughts and feelings as well as what amenities you want,” urged Mr. McDonald. Some of the problem areas noted concerning the proposed park were the tot lot’s location next to the lake which might well become a liability issue and the 50-60 parking spaces which would not be enough when several teams were using the fields. Mr. McDonald explained, “We hope to have a joint parking arrangement with a proposed church to provide overflow parking. We should have 100 to 140 spots for the size of the park.”

Other public concerns were the need for additional ramadas and restrooms, a fishing lake and perhaps a skate park. According to Mr. McDonald, some fishing tourneys are being planned for the lake, but fishing would be catch and release. He added that a skate park is a “major liability and management risk.” A skate park under the terms of the deal constructed might be prohibited for this first park. “This first park can’t be everything to everybody. We can’t pack everything in. We need to keep open spaces,” explained Mr. McDonald.

Safety concerns also included the proximity of the park’s entrance to the subdivision’s entrance. This subdivision would have 2,200 homes so this would become a very busy intersection. The need for security and lights as well as a public phone were mentioned.

“The cheapest thing is to build it,” said Mr. McDonald. “The first park will be home to all, so wear and tear on these fields will be great. The fields will be sodded turf.” Also there would be no infield grass so both baseball and softball could utilize the same fields.

The maintenance budget for this park is anticipated at $150,000 or more. It is possible that a business will sponsor the park for a fee that would cut maintenance costs by 30-40%. Additional revenue might come from tournament fees, concessions and even cell phone antennas mounted on the light poles.

When the discussion turned to ideas for future parks, one of the biggest considerations was whether people would want several smaller parks or a large, perhaps 70-acre flagship park with multiple fields, arenas and numerous amenities. Maricopa’s need for tennis courts, a community center and an aquatic center were all explored. As Maricopa High School student Kasey Hampton told the crowd, “I’ve been on the Maricopa swim team since I was three years old and I’ve been waiting for a pool since then. Now I’m a junior and I’ll be going to college soon and there still isn’t a pool.”

Two more Recreation Town Hall Meetings will be held. The next one is Tuesday, November 30, in Room 1 at Maricopa High School. The final meeting will be held on Wednesday, December 8, in the Santa Rosa Elementary School’s cafeteria. Both meetings will be held at 7 p.m. Bring your thoughts and ideas. This is YOUR park.