SEQUIM — Sequim Family Advocates, a group formed 19 months ago, emerged victorious from the Sequim City Council chambers this week after the council voted unanimously for the advocates’ plan to build eight playfields adjacent to Carrie Blake Park at 202 N. Blake Ave.
There are 1,000 kids out there itching to play soccer, softball and other kinds of ball, Sequim Family Advocates President Craig Stevenson told the council members before the vote Monday night.
That figure is based on the numbers he’s seen turn out for various youth teams, and Stevenson believes even more will want to play once there’s more room.
Sequim’s young people have only a few muddy fields on which to run, Stevenson said, because of the city’s shortage of sports spaces — something he called a “crisis” back in October 2008 when Sequim Family Advocates first came together.
Map, timeline
Stevenson, along with other local parents, has been telling the Sequim City Council and Public Works staff about the need for more playfields — and drawing up plans for them — ever since.
Finally, earlier this year, Sequim Family Advocates presented the city with a map and timeline for the Sequim Community Playfields, a 14-acre piece of land Stevenson said can accommodate not just ball games, but also community events that aren’t sports-related.
City Attorney Craig Ritchie drew up a contract that will have the advocates as builders of the playfields; after they’re completed no later than November 2011, the group will turn the fields over to the city to maintain.
“It’s somewhat of a celebration to get to this point,” City Manager Steve Burkett said when that contract came before the council Monday.
Seeking donations
Sequim Family Advocates will now approach local construction companies for in-kind donations, Stevenson said Tuesday morning.
Those companies’ generosity will determine how much the organization, a registered nonprofit, will have to then raise in donations from the community at large.
After the advocates transfer ownership of the fields to the city of Sequim, the city will foot the expenses. Those costs — for mowing, trash removal, restroom cleaning, maintenance of the fields’ irrigation system — are expected to total $16,600 next year, according to the city staff report.
It’s worth it, several City Council members believe.
Hundreds playing ball
Mayor Pro Tem Laura Dubois said she looks forward to seeing hundreds of kids out playing ball in Sequim.
Building playfields, she added, “shows them this is not [only] a retirement community . . . it needs to be an inclusive community for all ages.”
“I’m thrilled at this whole thing,” added council member Susan Lorenzen. “I know this [new set of fields] is desperately needed . . . and as these fields are developed and tournament play comes to our town, that will be a boon as well.
“This has just got pluses all over it.”
Walking paths
But one council member raised a question about how the fields will affect the walking paths that wind through the Water Reuse Demonstration Site.
The fields will be located west of Rhodefer Road and east of the James Center bandshell, where there’s now a trail that, Erik Erichsen said, he and many other seniors enjoy using.
“We want to maintain a friendly community,” . . . and not alienate anyone, he added.
Stevenson responded that from the outset, the fields construction plan preserved the path.
“You’ll still have a walking trail around that meadow,” he said. “You can tell everyone they’re still going to be able to walk on the trails.”
Mayor Ken Hays called the playfields plan something both the current City Council, and the previous council, which expressed support during 2008 and 2009, can be proud of.
And finally, long-serving member Bill Huizinga, who’s been on both councils, gave it his blessing.
“This is probably one of the best things we’ve been able to do,” he said.
“Now it’s full speed ahead.”
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Sequim-Dungeness Valley Reporter Diane Urbani de la Paz can be reached at 360-681-2391 or at diane.urbani@peninsuladailynews.com.
