“To whom it may concern:

The neighborhood surrounding the Renfree Field renovation is NOT in support of the Renovation of Renfree field project as drawn for a number of reasons. 

1. For the County residents on Park road, we feel that it puts us in an potential unsafe emergency situation.  We already have times that it is hard to exit our neighborhood,  and an increase of traffic could, especially during the two dozen or so fires the park has each year, be catastrophic. And, as has happened in the past, restrict access for emergency vehicles.  

I know that the plan is legal, but it is not safe. When discussing this plan in its original planning stages we asked that parking lot not be put on Bridge Road. 

Further, we believe for our safety, all parking for the park should come off Auburn blvd so that those using and misusing the park would be more noticeable. 

2. The park plan is a poor one. Having played and coached on many multiuser fields, only really big park areas work for these. For example... 

Are the baseball diamonds going to have grass infields? Or are the soccer fields going to have large dirt areas.

In the meetings,  baseball field supporters discussed whether the fence will be at 300 ft. Or 310ft? .... what fence? The one that would have to run right through the soccer fields?

Or would need to be somehow erected and taken down on a regular basis and also eliminate the opportunity to have baseball and soccer games at the same time. (Read: reduced income)

Have you ever been to a highly used soccer field? Goal locations have the grass eaten away and ruts from the high usage. Those ruts etc will be a serious hazard to either infielders or outfielders, depending on set up. Or the park will need an increasing amount of maintenance. Which the City is already a hundred million plus behind in.

Which leads to another reason to not build this park as planned: There is NO BUDGET FOR MAINTENANCE! 

How long will it be before it will be unusable and be just another attractive nuisance in our neighborhood?

Like Renfree field has been for as long as I've lived here. Or like the outdoor classroom that has signage but the Amphitheater is still just a weed-covered mound in the long neglected East Del Paso park! 

Let's not forget the ECO trail behind the Science Center.  There are still reminders poking up through the weeds in the Protected Habitat. 

Let's go take a walk on the "trail to nowhere" it still sits, uncompleted... no, that is too generous... barely started. After what?  about 8 years?

And don't get me started on the "protected habitat" that was established by the 1985 City Council and promised to keep it "in perpetuity for future generations" ! 

When I got here a dozen years ago it was unsafe, full of trash, homeless camps and sex workers of every type. It's relatively safe state now is due to neighborhood patrols, reporting and huge cleanups. 

For all our work, it seems we are being saddled with another ill fated project that will decrease our quality of life and endanger our community. 

Please stop this project before it is too late.

“Friends of Del Paso Park”