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Commission updates: Stacy Park fence removal and seedings; commission to weigh field renovation funding and parking changes during soccer season
Summary
Parks staff described removal of a Stacy Park playground fence — removed because it encouraged unsupervised children and created liability concerns — and outlined stepped field maintenance (aeration/overseeding) while noting capital field renovations would require significant outside funding.
Parks staff on Feb. 19 described several physical improvements and short-term maintenance steps at Stacy Park and elsewhere, including fence removal, overseeding, and a seeded savanna grant, and discussed parking-management steps for soccer weekends.
Fence and playground area
Director Beverly Tucker Knight said staff removed the single playground fence at Stacy because it created a "false sense of security" and had been used by some adults to leave children unsupervised during pavilion events. She said where the fence immediately borders private property staff will retain existing fencing; where it does not touch private property they will remove and replace fencing selectively as part of a broader master-plan rollout. "That fence is a false sense of security that fence does not protect children. It actually, is a huge exposure of liability for us," Tucker Knight said.
Field maintenance and renovation prospects
Staff summarized short-term field-care steps taken last fall — overseeding and aeration — and described plans for spring surveys and drainage work. They said large-scale field renovations (irrigation, turf, regrading) are capital projects with multi-million-dollar examples cited when comparing to nearby Clayton upgrades. Staff noted potential grant sources (for example, sports-field grants such as those sometimes provided by Cardinals or other groups) but cautioned that many grants include use restrictions and that irrigation and pesticide use have environmental and policy implications.
Stacy parking and scheduling
To address weekend soccer parking, staff said they plan to stagger game times on weekends and use alternate fields (including Worsen) where feasible. They also said use of the Ladue School District facilities for practices and games has reduced pressure on city fields.
Other updates
Staff said they received a small conservation grant for a savanna planting on the eastern side of Morrison Park and praised Park Ops staff for developing an in-house seed-growing program that will reduce future plant purchasing.
Ending
Staff will bring detailed master-plan visuals to a future meeting and continue to research capital funding and grant opportunities for field renovations while implementing near-term maintenance and scheduling changes to reduce weekend parking pressure.
