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Local softball group asks council to extend expired agreement for Howard Park fields
Summary
Derek Baker, president of the Amarillo County Rural Softball Association, asked the council to extend a five‑year agreement that he said expires tonight so the group can build ballfields at Howard Park; councilors said the request must proceed through Parks & Rec and formal processes.
Derek Baker, president of the Amarillo County Rural Softball Association, told the town hall he had sent multiple emails and hoped the council would support extending an agreement that allowed the group to begin building ballfields at Howard Park. Baker said the five‑year agreement expires at midnight and that delays in the master plan and planning/engineering steps have held back progress.
Council members and staff answered that the request must go through Parks & Recreation for review, engineering drawings and the normal public process. One councilor said the current council will find a way to deliver fields but emphasized that the item should follow the proper commission and council path rather than being decided at the town hall.
Staff said they had discussed the matter with the group in prior meetings and noted constraints on how consultants may be engaged by private groups versus the city. No extension was granted at the town hall; staff and council members invited the group to pursue a formal Parks & Rec path and to meet with staff for next steps.
