Title
Ballfield Assessment
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County Council assigned the Parks and Recreation Board the task of receiving and making recommendations for softball/baseball capacity needs, uses and lighting. Parks and Recreation Board members held a workshop at Overlook Park (attachment A.) and North Mesa Sports Complex (Attachment B) to better understand the issues and to begin formulation of recommendations. Discussions have included members of the public, County Council, Coaches, LAPS Athletic Director, organizational representatives, volunteers and staff. In addition, Field User Request Forms and the calendars/schedules that result from these requests have also been reviewed. Field User meetings are generally held in early February to establish the Spring sports schedule and again in early June to establish the Summer sports schedule. Often uses span both seasons with practice schedules and game schedules developed that address conflicts prior to finalizing the associated schedules. We have historically scheduled fields from April 1st - Oct 31st. February and March are now seeing increased scheduled use.
The USSSA Statistics, (attachment C.) Dedicated Usage % (attachment D.) Headcount Use by Month (attachment E.) as provided courtesy of the user groups substantiates our field user schedules. Presently, the capacity needs of the users are being met while growth can be accommodated through continued collaborative scheduling.
Within the current County Council goals, the Parks and Recreation Board promotes maximum utilization of parks, recreation facilities and programs. Continuing to balance multiple users on all the fields will sustain not only the ebb and flow of individual sports it will allow for multiple turf activities/sports and their participants in the long run.
To maximize multiple uses while meeting different field dimensions it is recommended that moveable outfield fencing be a high priority for future budgets. Just as portable pitching mounds provi...
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