Certain members of the City Council continue to berate us folks opposed to the ball field renovation project by claiming that we’re putting out inaccurate and misleading information. So, I thought I’d go ahead and break it down BY THE NUMBERS…. 0 – The number of times the President of the Hanover Athletic Association who also serves as Chairman of the Planning Commission brought up the proposed Settler’s Park ball field redesign to the Planning Commission. It is the Planning Commission’s responsibility to ensure major projects are thoroughly vetted and within the guidelines of the Hanover Comprehensive Plan. Zero is also the number in additional tax dollars it will cost Hanover citizens to refrain from moving forward with the ball field renovation project. Conversely, $175,000 is the estimated cost (in 2011 dollars) for the lights alone! 1- The number, in months, that the monumental 50 year ball field lease agreement remained in effect until terminated upon request of both the city and the athletic association. 2- The number of smaller ball fields in Settler’s Park to be displaced by an adult sized ball field. An adult sized field would generate both tournament and concession revenue that would be a significant monetary benefit to the HAA but consequently provide little economic benefit to Hanover’s local “watering holes”. 3 – The number of Council members who continue to support the project in spite of signed petitions, citizen feedback, valid safety concerns and park board survey results that clearly indicate the residents of Hanover are clearly not in favor of this project in its current form. 4 – The number of years the Hanover Athletic Association has been actively trying to get their hands on this section of Settler’s Park dating back to 2013. It was clearly revealed, even back then, that citizens did not want to see the trees destroyed for a large ball field. The plan before you today is nothing more than a recycled, repurposed, re-packaged, replica of that plan, disguised as an “enhancement” for a U16 baseball team. 5 – The number of historic, mature, perfectly healthy bur oaks that will be destroyed as a result of a perceived need for a large baseball field, if the project is allowed to move forward in its current form. 6 – The number of Hanover Athletic Association members (of 14) who had the wisdom to vote against the project as it was presented to the City Council. Although a majority vote was achieved, it was clearly far from unanimous. 7 – The number of mature trees, in addition to the historic bur oaks, that appear to have to be removed in order to build a ball field with the dimensions of 325’ x 325’ as presented to the Park Board on 4/26/16. A ball field of these dimensions will take up just over 2.4 acres of the 5 acres of Settler’s Park. 325 x 325 = 105625 sq. ft. 1 acre = 43560 sq. ft. 105625/43560 = 2.42 acres. This ball field is going to take up almost 1/2 of Settler’s Park. 8 - The number of Hanover Athletic Association members (of 14) who chose to ignore the disunity being caused within the community by voting to go forward with this poorly planned project. 9 – The maximum number in feet a bur oak tree would grow in 9 years. This tree grows at a slow rate, with height increases of less than 12” per year. Bur oaks grow to a height of 70 – 80’ and a spread of around 80’ at maturity. 10 – The number of feet required to move the fence that already exists at Hanover Athletic Field #1 to meet the proposed 290’ outfield fence being requested by Hanover Youth Ball for the U16 baseball players to play their home games on. The City of Hanover has chosen to post the 2 WSB ball field renderings on the Announcements Section of the home page of the city website. If Hanover residents wish to see inaccurate information, look no further than those renderings. The home plate rendering shows mature trees (that WILL NOT be there) in right field and both renderings show field lighting, which cannot exist given the limited donations for the project. When inaccurate material is presented by your government, it’s propaganda which is; Official government communications to the public, especially of a biased or misleading nature, that are designed to influence opinion. I encourage you to decide for yourselves who is misleading whom. Michael Kehn President Hanover Historical Society