Mary Souza’s Newsletter  

It’s Spring, so let’s talk baseball.  And let’s start with the American Legion’s “equal or better” promise from the City of CdA.  But that’s not all, we’ll also mull over the scuttlebutt that Memorial Field is being targeted for redevelopment.

First the Legion.  We all know that the City kicked the American Legion baseball program off its long time home field near the lake because of the McEuen Park make-over.  “Highest and best use”, isn’t that what one of the park designers said? I guess they prefer Bocce ball and Pickle ball, which are so ingrained in our local culture and history…umm, not so much.

Well, last Tuesday night, at the City Council meeting, the topic of the American Legion replacement field was discussed, thanks to Councilmen Dan Gookin and Steve Adams placing the issue on the Agenda.  The Legion people were present to report the good, bad and the ugly of their new digs at Ramsey Park.  They had a polite but long list of needs, based on the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) of August 7, 2012, which the Council passed by a unanimous vote, at that time, and the Mayor signed with her approval.

That MOU promised the Legion that anything displaced in McEuen Park would be replaced with “equal or better facilities”.  And it contained an “included but not limited to” list of items such as “restroom facilities, construction materials, electrical power, water, size, dimension and location.”  The Legion specifically asked for low dugouts with flat roofs and wooden bleachers, set in concrete, with wide seating.  Bleachers like those they built on McEuen with fundraising money. They were also promised ongoing communication and input on designs, materials, etc, which you will see below did not happen.

What the Legion got at Ramsey was much less than expected:  Porta Potties without water, dugouts that had pitched roofs which block views, and aluminum bleachers which the Legion specifically told the City last Fall would be “unacceptable”. And the Legion was not kept informed; the City’s communication was next to nothing.

In response, the City has now flattened the dugout roofs and added some features like batting cages that the team did not have before. But the overall look and feel of the new field is diminished; it’s cramped and looks like it was shoehorned into an unused corner. The Legion will have to wait to see how water drains off the field because Ramsey Park is known for such problems, where as McEuen was fine.  And they’ll have to make do with the aluminum bleachers, at least for this season.

Then there’s the Concessions trailer.  The Legion makes about 20% of its program money from the sales of food at the games.  The City promised to order a new trailer, but didn’t do so until too late. Now the trailer won’t arrive until the season is almost over, so they’re scrambling to find an interim fix.

And what was Councilman McEvers’ response at the Council meeting?  Woody told the Legion, “I had no idea baseball is all this! I thought you just picked up a ball and a bat and ran around…this is freakin’ me out!”  He went on to tell them they were “nit-picking” and asked, “How much is the Legion putting in this?” “My skateboard kids would love to have a bleacher”. Woody also slammed them with “I don’t think you’re ever going to be happy.”

Councilwoman Deanna Goodlander echoed Woody’s attitude when she told the Legion that they should do another fund raiser for the bleachers they want, after all, she said, we can’t put this all on the taxpayers.  (I’m biting my tongue!)

So what is it about promises of equal or better that Woody and Deanna don’t seem to understand?  And if you’re wondering what Mike Kennedy, the Council liaison to Legion baseball, said at the meeting, he didn’t.  Mike was absent. I don’t know why.  But I did hear that he left in the middle of a smaller meeting with Legion, a few days before the full Council meeting, saying something angry to them as he walked out.

Dan Gookin, Steve Adams and Ron Edinger all spoke up in support of Legion’s right to equal or better last Tuesday night, and offered good suggestions for resolving many of the problems.  Legion can be glad these three council members are true to their words.

Now let’s quickly move on to Memorial Field.  Keep your eyes and ears on this one, dear Readers, if you want to preserve any remaining shred of Coeur d’Alene’s past:

Remember the City’s $400,000 purchase of additional land at Cherry Hill last year?  It was originally touted as a place for American Legion baseball, but it quickly became obvious the real target was a local group trying to bring a semi-pro baseball team here from Spokane.  The City bought the land but private donations and fundraising were supposed to pay for creating the baseball field and its amenities.  American Legion was diverted to Ramsey Park instead.

Word on the street, from multiple unrelated but qualified sources, is that the local group behind that semi-pro effort has not been successful with fundraising and is now looking at Memorial Field.  Why, you ask?  Because it’s in the LCDC district!  They can ask for free money!*

Do you remember way back, before LCDC urban renewal, when businesses had to make it on their own merits and major public improvement projects had to go to a vote of the people?  Sigh.  And citizens trusted their government and were treated with respect?   November can’t come soon enough.

Have a great week!  You’ll be hearing from me again, very soon. –Mary

(*Of course we all know that LCDC money comes from local taxpayers.  It’s not free!)

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Mary Souza is a 26 year resident of CdA, local small business owner and former P&Z Commissioner.   Her opinions are her own.  To sign up for the free weekly newsletter, or access a free archive of past columns, visit www.marysouzacda.com  Comments can be sent to marysouzacda@gmail.com.  Please visit the local issues web site www.OpenCdA.com for more discussion.