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Residents, commissioners press City over Las Palmas field maintenance and drainage
Summary
Residents, youth-league leaders and city staff at a National City Parks & Recreation meeting raised ongoing concerns about drainage and infield repairs at Las Palmas and other local fields, saying long-delayed maintenance has cost weeks of youth baseball and asking the city for a clearer, faster response plan.
Residents and members of the Parks & Recreation Advisory Committee pressed city staff to address long-standing drainage and infield problems at Las Palmas and other ballfields, saying repeated flooding and delayed repairs have forced cancellations and lost time for youth baseball.
Daniel Perez, a National City resident and president of the local little leagues, told the committee the infield mix and basic repairs requested more than two years ago were not completed and that his leagues lost “approximately 3 and a half weeks of baseball” this season because fields were not playable. Perez said volunteers routinely work on the fields but the city would not permit them to bring trucks and materials to complete larger fixes.
The exchange followed reports that recent storms flooded low-lying areas behind basketball courts, the skate park and baseball fields. Committee members and members of the public said some drainage lines were cleaned but appeared not to have been cleared fully. A Parks staff member said crews removed “quite a bit of dirt” from lines but that heavy flows overwhelmed the system.
In public comment, resident Matthew Luke called for clearer priority-setting and faster response times for urgent repairs. He suggested a visible reporting or tracking system that would show requests and timestamps so the public and leagues know when work will occur.
Interim Community Services Director Tracy Lam, who introduced herself earlier in the meeting, said she is new to the city and would follow up on outstanding maintenance requests. Lam told the committee she could not provide a definitive timetable at the meeting but committed to checking on the outstanding items and reporting back.
Committee members noted the city delivered a small amount of dirt last year — described by one speaker as a temporary “band aid” — but said more substantial infield material (one league representative recommended about six inches of infield mix) and a coordinated drainage strategy are needed to prevent repeated cancellations.
Staff and speakers referenced existing reporting tools on the city website (ClickFix) as a way to log and timestamp requests. Committee members also discussed jurisdictional questions: some park maintenance tasks fall under Public Works rather than Parks & Recreation, which can complicate assignments and timelines.
The committee directed staff to follow up with the departments responsible for drainage and infield deliveries and to report status at the next meeting.
