FIELD OF DREAMS: City needs new ball field
Posted on Thursday, May 15, 2008
URL: http://www.nwanews.com/wrvn/News/3872/
ELKINS -- The lack of playing fields for youth has some parents in Elkins asking what can be done. With the phenomenal growth in the past few years, Elkins hasn’t taken many visible step to accommodate the needs of kids in summer league activities.
Jay Ryals, a parent with children currently participating in sports summed up his thoughts as to the lack of facilities. “ Elkins is another town that has outgrown its current baseball and softball fields, ” Ryals said. The summer program is at the will of the high school athletic program. “ We aren’t allowed to practice when there is a high school baseball or softball game. We aren’t allowed to use the batting cages, not allowed to use old gym in order to throw and until recently weren’t allowed to use the lights at the fields.
“ It is well known that 20 acres has been donated to the city in order to build a baseball and softball complex, but the city is unwilling to act, ” he continued. ”Greenland, West Fork, Prairie Grove and Farmington are among the smaller cities that have built or in process of building new fields to accommodate growth. Elkins is one of the fastest growing towns in Northwest Arkansas. In order to fill the overabundance of new empty homes is would make sense to increase the attraction of the city by investing in youth. Families are what will be moving into the homes and they need a reason to choose Elkins, the water bill is already a deterrent. ”
The possible donation of land by two developers near the new middle school has been put on indefinite hold due to the stipulation that the city government provide $ 60, 000 for sewer and water service to the land.
Elkins mayor Jack Ladyman, knowing the need for facilities, said the initial expenditure isn’t feasible at present. “ We have brought up the need for ball fields at council meetings but when we don’t have the money. There is little we can do right now, ” said Ladyman. “ We are exploring options with one being asking for a donation of land. ”
If the city could receive a donation of land it could be used to fund and erect the needed facilities. The Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism provides matching grants to allow cities like Elkins to have ball fields. The 50 / 50 Matching Grant Program is a reimbursable grant program meaning that the grantee will be reimbursed for half of the amount of the project cost up to the grant amount. The grantee must finance 100 percent of the cost of the project, which can include in-kind labor, land donations, contributions and general appropriations.
The Parks and Tourism will not reimburse the grantee for any more than the amount of cash they spend. Fifty percent of the eligible expenditures, up to the grant amount, maybe reimbursed by periodic billings during the project period, or the grantee may wait until project completion to request total reimbursement.
The funding for the 50 / 50 Matching Grant Program comes from two sources, the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF ) and the Arkansas Natural and Cultural Resources Grant and Trust Fund (NCRGTF ). The LWCF is a federal program authorized by the LWCF Act of 1965 (Public Law 88-578 ). These funds are derived from the sale of federal surplus property, the federal motor fuel tax and the Outer Continental Shelf mineral receipts.
The NCRGTF is a state program authorized by Act 729 of 1987. Funds are collected from a tax on the transfer of certain real estate in the State of Arkansas.
The purpose of the Matching Grant Program is to build outdoor recreation facilities. Enclosed facilities cannot be constructed within the area described by the park boundary map, except as support to an outdoor facility (i. e., restrooms or concession stands ). Pavilions cannot have sides that give the effect of a closed-in building, nor can facilities constructed with LWCF or NCRGTF monies be enclosed at a later date.
For Fiscal Year (FY ) 2007 the program had an estimated $ 2. 9 million dollars to grant out and an estimated $ 4. 2 million dollars in requests from applicants. We had 35 applications in FY 2007 and were able award grants to 34 of them. Projections indicate that we will have similar numbers for FY 2008. In addition the Arkansas Rural Electric Co-op provides a donation to allow lighting to be put into place at fields. Installing poles and erecting lighting fixtures would leave only the purchase of the lights to the city.
In the eventuality of a land donation to suit the needs of playing fields an engineering firm would be engaged to plan the park. “ We would need a plan to submit with the grant requests to show that we could use the land for its maximum benefit, ” Ladyman said. “ The whole project rests upon getting the necessary land. With a land donation we could use the value of the ground to fund the whole project. ”
In the meantime, youth sports will continue to use whatever park or school playground to practice, according to Ryals. “ We should invest in our kids. There is a need for facilities such as ball fields in Elkins. ”