1986-08-12 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Council Meeting Minutes Page Seven August 12, 1986 I Public Hearing, continued I I Brandt asked if the arc could be expanded to accomodate adult males by moving the bleachers to the west and shifting the infield area to the south; Anderson stated that line drive balls and foul balls coming back would escape the protection of the backstop, unless a hugh backstop was installed far beyond the normal distance or a screen was built, which is not commonly done nor is it as good a way to watch a game. Brandt asked if such a plan would allow enough feet to accommo- date adult male teams, even though a row of parking may need to be shaved from the lot; Anderson stated it probably would, and that another option would be to do away with spectator seating. In response to Brandt's further question, Anderson also stated that, if the bleachers were eliminated from the plan, the same protection would be needed for those who may bring in folding chairs. Schmidt stated that in June at least four plans were submitted for the development of Veterans Park and reminded those present that he was not in favor of any development until other develop- ment, along with development of the park, occurred downtown and that no one could push him on making a decision on what kind of park would go into the area until he was ready to make that deci- sion. Schmidt recalled, at that time, discussions as to what kinds of uses ought to be considered for this park (passive, ponds, ampitheater, etc.) and that he had raised the issues of whether or not we even needed a ball diamond, considering the aging population for this particular area. At that time, it was made real clear to him that one of the greatest uses of the park was the ball diamond, not just for the players but also for those in the neighborhood who wished to watch the games. Schmidt firmly stated that if we are going to have a ball diamond that is not going to be used all of the time, he would not vote in favor of the park's development and the authority to spend the kind of money council is talking about; we either develop it right and spend the money necessary so that this park gets parity with Freedom Park, Driftwood Park, and Hansen Park, otherwise there is no point in spending the money at all. Schmidt stated that, even though the park will not be developed until next year, he is glad the decision was not made last June and that the public has been heard, whether or not the decision is as they desire. Schmidt continued that, in addition to the residents, staff, and councilmembers involved in the process, the Park Board is used to get their valid opinions about what should go into a neighborhood; this plan has been back to the Park Board several times and they were also getting frustrated that a decision had not been made as fast as they had hoped, because council wanted to make sure it did not move too quickly and to make sure that the decision was the right one.