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Parks staff urge patience on Greenway and Brookside work; consider moving soccer park schedule
Summary
Parks staff and board members discussed Brookside Park, football field LED lights, the delayed Greenway extension, and whether to accelerate a soccer-park project given rising local youth participation and YMCA plans.
Parks staff and board members discussed multiple parks projects, including Brookside Park, field lighting, a proposed soccer complex and the delayed Greenway extension.
David, a parks speaker, described a carryover contractor for Brookside Park that is ready to start work but is awaiting state approval. He said the Greenway extension has been pushed back a year because of funding and regulatory hurdles. He also described the YMCA’s plans to move older youth to another facility as participants age out and said the city should consider converting some existing fields to full-size soccer fields if youth soccer grows locally.
Several board members advocated advancing the soccer park project sooner than currently scheduled, noting that soccer leagues have tried multiple times to establish themselves in the city and that nearby complexes attract players within a 20-minute drive. One board member said the city keeps pushing the soccer project back because other needs have higher immediate priority.
Parks staff said tournament hosting would require department staffing and insurance and that when leagues previously ran tournaments, the organizations handled much of the administration. Staff proposed rental changes and fees to align with neighboring cities, and said the parks department would collect fees and manage scheduling if tournaments return.
No formal decisions were recorded; board members asked staff to continue refining scheduling and fee proposals and to return with further information.
