As a past field scheduler for the Sumner Soccer Club Board of Directors, I have first hand knowledge of the difficulties in securing usable fields and scheduling practice and game times for all of the youth in the area.
With multiple sports playing at the same time each year competing for the use of the limited field space and a limited amount of daytime hours after school sports have concluded for the day, you end up scheduling several teams on the same field who have to squeeze in a small area to practice.
My knowledge also comes from having two sons playing sports and I have spent countless hours driving to the closest available practice location (Buckley, Enumclaw, Orting, Auburn) as no field space is available in Bonney Lake. I have bulleted below some top reasons that more ball fields are needed in the Bonney Lake area:
* Safety - school district fields are not being maintained due to budget cuts, mowing grass and leaving it in place instead of catching the grass is causing a compounding problem, the pot holes and drainage issues also add to the unsafe conditions, and then teams that are forced to practice after dusk with no lights.
* Availability - School sports and activities take precedent and then only remaining time is available for outside use. The only city ball fields are at Allan Yorke Park that are not dictated by school use, which then must be split amongst many teams and sports at any given time.
*Weather - the rain makes most fields a muddy, soggy mess that becomes unplayable much of the time. The Sumner School District restricts grass field use after Nov. 1 due to the damage that can be done to the fields if over used during the wettest part of the year, thus eliminating those fields from the usable options.
*Lighting - Starting in October, the number of hours the fields are able to be scheduled is reduced with the loss of sunlight. This causes more teams to squeeze in during a shorter window of time. Currently, there is only one field in Bonney Lake city limits with lights - Bonney Lake High School.
*Tournaments/Jamborees - The lack of fields makes it impossible to hold tournaments or jamborees where multiple teams are able to play at the same time. This is a huge revenue loss for our local businesses as these events occur elsewhere that can accommodate this type of play and the dollars are not being spent within our tax district.
These are just a few key points that I believe support the upcoming Metropolitan Park District (MPD) YES vote to ensure The City of Bonney Lake has adequate park space for all uses in the future.
Thank you,
Melissa Johnson
RELATED COVERAGE
Bonney Lake Council Sends Park District to the April Ballot
Vote No on Bonney Lake Park District
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