According to report by Marchione's staff: the large, regular-sized baseball infield - Babe Ruth Field - at Hartman Park is in need of repair with patches sewn on top of patches. "The existing turf fibers are excessively worn and require a replacement in order to assure safe and consistent playing surface." wrote a parks staffer. Stop by and take a look for yourself to see how worn this 12 year-old infield is. Last week, the council took Mayor Marchione's word and approved $278,206.58 to convert the infield (including the dirt home plate area) with new synthetic turf. The funds are baked into the "Parks and Recreation Turf Replacement Fund" and were itching to be used.
Read the city proposal here: http://www.redmond.gov/common/pages/UserFile.aspx?fileId=81861
Report by Yoder
Read the city proposal here: http://www.redmond.gov/common/pages/UserFile.aspx?fileId=81861
Report by Yoder
Before the city spends $278,000 on new turf for the baseball field, they should figure out how much it will cost to update Hartman Park so that it is in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Maybe it would be a better idea to use the funds earmarked for the new turf to instead make Hartman Park ADA-compatible.
ReplyDeleteMost of Hartman Park is very difficult if not impossible for visitors/athletes in wheelchairs to access. There is only one handicapped parking space for the entire park and its located in the lot next to the play set – far from the upper Little League fields. The main restroom building has a handicapped stall but the door is not automatic and is too stiff for most wheelchair users to open. Getting to fields 5 & 6 is next to impossible because the hills are too steep and there are fences in the way.
The Parks Department staff might want to review the US Dept of Justice agreement with the City of Milton, Washington (http://www.ada.gov/milton/milton.htm) to determine just how much work the park needs and then they should make a plan and start the upgrades before someone files a complaint with the DOJ.