Derby Youth Soccer League parents are worried they will lose a soccer field at Witek Park as the city and school district moves forward with a plan to reconfigure athletic fields.
But Derby Schools Superintendent Matthew Conway insists no final decisions have been reached and stood up at an Aldermen meeting May 28 to make just that point. He promised to hold public hearings on the issue so that every opinion is heard.
However, soccer parents said they weren’t included in discussions at the start, so they’re worried the decision is, in fact, set in stone.
Update: Two parents on the field “task force” said this article is slanted and called the information provided “extremely misleading.” Click here to read their reasons.
Background
School officials want to build a handicapped-accessible field house and install an artificial turf football field with a new, eight-lane running track at the Leo F. Ryan Athletic Complex on Chatfield Street in west Derby.
According to a request filed with the state, the project would also rebuild a press box, replace any bleachers that are not handicapped-accessible, create a walking path to the high school/middle school up a hill and improve parking in an unspecified way.
The application to the state is embedded below.
Derby Turf Field Money Request by ValleyIndyDotOrg
The application to the state notes that the high school and the middle school have very competitive track programs.
Right now the track around the football field isn’t really a track. It’s more of a gravel path. It can’t be used for track meets.
The home field bleachers are in bad shape.
Derby hopes to get full funding from the state bonding commission to pay for the project.
When and if the money will be approved by the state remains to be seen.
Conway, himself a former state legislator, has enlisted state Rep. Theresa Conroy to help.
Last July Conroy secured a similar $1.8 million grant to install artificial turf and new bleachers at Seymour High School.
The Wrinkle
But the project, if it happens, will require the high school baseball field at the Ryan Athletic Complex to be moved in order to make room for the new amenities.
The question — how do you do that without some team or organization losing an athletic field?
An athletic field “task force” has been meeting since early spring to figure out how to arrange the dominoes.
Derby is small city where most of the land has been developed. Playing fields aren’t exactly a dime a dozen — but demand for playing time on those fields by various youth leagues, recreational leagues and school teams is very high.
The project has been in discussion since at least March, when Conway broached the idea with a subcommittee of the Derby Board of Aldermen.
There was a public forum in April to discuss the issue.
There were three additional meetings of the “Turf Field Task Force” after the April forum.
Soccer Left Out?
But Derby Youth Soccer wasn’t brought into the discussion at the start, according to Mario Tessitore, the program’s director for more than 30 years. His picture is posted at the top of the story.
“I guess before they called me, they had like two, three meetings,” Tessitore said. “I think they are moving too quick. That’s my personal opinion.”
Much of the discussion, the soccer officials and parents said, is focusing on eliminating a soccer field at Witek Park and building a baseball field for the high school’s team.
That has Tessitore and parents feeling like they’re trying to catch a speeding train — one that is going to steamroll Derby Youth Soccer.
“What they seem to be talking about is taking away one of our fields and putting a baseball field here,” Tessitore said.
There are two soccer fields in Witek Park and a smaller area for younger kids to play.
Alderman Art Gerckens also said the field issue moved too quickly — and he’s on the task force examining the issue.
Gerckens was the one who told Tessitore about the issue after realizing no one from the school district gave the soccer program a head’s up.
“By the time the second meeting rolled around, that’s when all the discussion changed and had switched to Witek Park. I’m not sure how that happened, but it made me think ‘Where’s Derby Youth Soccer? That’s the largest youth program in the city,” Gerckens said.
The soccer league was in attendance for the third meeting on the issue.
“By then, all eyes were on Witek Park, so I don’t blame the soccer people for being upset,” he said.
Gerckens is a former volunteer for the soccer program.
As it stands, the task force — made up of coaches, recreation officials and youth league leaders — isn’t posting agendas or recording minutes.
Gerckens suggested the task force become more formal, so the 11,000 or so Derby residents not attending the meetings can keep tabs.
“My whole concern is that although there have been four public session on this issue, no one knew about them unless you are included in emails or connected to a program,” Gerckens said.
Gerckens said putting soccer fields in Witek Park was a divisive issue in Derby.
Neighbors didn’t want the woods disturbed. Restrictions were purposefully put on the land to limit what happens there.
Gerckens questioned whether the residents who live around the park are even aware of what’s happening now.
“That was a major fight, just to get those soccer fields in there, yet we haven’t had any discussions with neighbors about this,” Gerckens said.
Compounding the soccer league’s fears — the May 28 agenda for the Board of Aldermen.
An item up for approval that night: “move to accept Turf Field Task Force recommendation and allow city officials to work with state legislators to secure funding for this project.”
However, Conway, after talking to a few Derby city officials, used the public portion of that meeting to stress that no decision had been made. The district and the city was moving forward with an application for funding only, Conway said.
Conway’s comments didn’t calm soccer parent Farhad Mekael, who was at the Aldermen meeting May 28.
“Honestly, there have been no real options presented so far. They’ve presented plans for a baseball park at Witek Park with a few preferences — ‘do we have the baseball field face that way or this way’,” he said. “Options are different locations to look at.”
About 220 kids, starting at age 5, participate in Derby Youth Soccer in the spring and the fall. About half the players are girls. It costs $20 per season to play.
Tessitore said he’s worried about safety if the city puts a baseball field next to a soccer field.
“I told them I can’t let kids play there if a baseball game is happening. What about foul balls that come over a fence? You can’t have little kids there,” he said.
Tessitore said the task force has offered to let the soccer program use the new turf field across town at the Ryan Athletic complex.
But Tessitore and the soccer parents have safety concerns over artificial turf, too.
“There are a lot of safety concerns with artificial turf, especially if you put kids on it so young,” he said.
Finally, Tessitore pointed out how hard the soccer program had to lobby to get playing fields of their own at Witek Park. They’ve only been there since 2006 — and now the city is talking about taking a field away?
Reaction
Conway, the Derby superintendent, said a feasibility study underway has at least 10 options for field configurations in Derby.
The options look at different types of field configurations at the Bradley School and at Witek Park.
Cost estimates along with the pros and cons for each scenario are being drafted.
The scenarios will be compiled in a booklet form, but Conway said it isn’t available in that form for the public yet.
Conway acknowledged that Derby Youth Soccer “wasn’t made aware of” the first meeting on the field issue.
“As soon as I found out that the group was not made aware of it is when I personally reached out to Mario to invite him,” Conway said. “I know the perception is that this is a done deal, but Witek Park was literally not even on the table until the second meeting.”
He said changing the fields at Witek Park was brought to Conway’s attention from conversations at baseball games and other events.
“People in the community asked, ‘Have you looked at Witek Park,’” he said.
The superintendent stressed the application embedded in this story is simply to get Derby in line for possible state money. It is not a finalized plan for the city and its athletic fields.
Further complicating the issue for soccer parents — the application to the state embedded above plainly states the feasibility study on the project was completed May 21. That reinforces the belief a decision has already been reached.
But Conway said Tuesday the study is ongoing and isn’t ready for public consumption just yet. Derby taxpayers funded the study for $7,500.
“We were on a short timetable to get that application together, but we now have more time to look at the feasibility study and put together the long-term plan for the project,” Conway said.
Disclosure: The writer of this article signed his son up for Derby Youth League Soccer June 8.
