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National City committee hears repeated complaints as baseball fields flood and repairs lag
Summary
Parents, volunteers and a Little League president told the National City Park and Recreation Committee that recurring drainage problems and delayed delivery of infield material have cost teams playing time; staff said some drains were cleaned and promised follow-up with public works.
Daniel Perez, a resident and president of the city’s Little League, told the National City Park and Recreation Committee that poor drainage and delayed repairs have cost youth teams weeks of play.
“We've lost approximately 3 and a half weeks of baseball simply due to the fact that these fields aren't properly maintained,” Perez said, urging the city to bring in substantially more infield mix and to address drainage lines rather than rely on short-term patches.
Tracy Lam, interim director of community services for National City, acknowledged volunteers’ work and the long-standing nature of the requests and said she will follow up with department leadership to clarify responsibility and next steps. Victor, a parks supervisor, said crews cleaned visible drains near the fields but that lines farther downstream may still be clogged and will require public-works or sewer crews to clear.
Perez and other residents described repeated requests for material and maintenance spanning more than two years. Perez asked for a proactive off-season repair that would add about 6 inches of infield mix to raise the fields and allow water to shed away, rather than the smaller “band aid” deliveries the volunteers have received previously.
City staff said some work was completed (crews removed debris and cleared nearby drains) but that high water volumes can overwhelm the system. Victor said the city had removed a substantial amount of dirt from the drain but could not be certain how far crews cleared the underground line. He recommended involving other departments when lines beyond the park’s immediate drains are blocked.
A public commenter suggested a priority-setting process and use of the city's ClickFix portal to report urgent conditions; staff confirmed the portal exists on the city website and encouraged residents to use it so requests are timestamped and routed to the proper departments.
The committee did not approve a specific capital project during the meeting. Lam said staff will report back with follow-up information and that moving public comment earlier in the agenda should make it easier for parks staff to hear concerns directly at future meetings.
