For those of you who weren't at the MCPS/MSI meeting about the use of the new Artificial Turf mega-fields at Julius West Middle School:
1. There seems to be uncertainty between MCPS and MSI over the issue of BATHROOMS, As in, are they going to be available for use by players and participants, or not?
2. Both MCPS and MSI seemed resistant to the issue of having an actual PLAN for overflow parking. The theme of the evening seemed to be "well we'll talk about it if it happens."
3. No answer about who was responsible for Security. When they have several hundred people at several different games, it would seem to be prudent to have some type of security guard.
4. Uncertainty about whether other people that access the field (adult leagues, etc), will have to follow the MOU concerning lighting, etc.
I urge that the Mayor and Council NOT approve the MOU until the following issues are SPECIFICALLY addressed and RESOLVED to the neighboring communities' satisfaction:
1. Lighting only until 9:00 pm
2. Specific procedures put in place for noise complaints, and resolution mechanisms.
3. Given that there are 60 ft light poles, for safety purposes there should be an early lightning detection system AND a written emergency evacuation plan. (NOT "just go back to your cars. See, for example, Carl Henn).
4. The bathroom issue. MSI seemed to say it wasn't an issue. IT IS AN ISSUE. There must be adequate restroom facilities at all times. If they are planning to have a couple of hundred individuals (people playing soccer, refs, coaches, families, siblings, etc), they must have sanitary facilities. PERIOD.
5. ADA compliance: are wheelchair users just supposed to park themselves on the grass? What about ADA compliant restroom facilities?
6. Ambulance access: can an ambulance get to the fields at the rear of the complex? Who will be responsible for ensuring that the gate/pole thing is unlocked and relocked each time?
7. Parking: there must be a defined overflow parking arrangement. Either MCPS or MSI must pay for a traffic control officer to insure safety of ingress and egress from the parking lots, and to close the lot to further parking once it is full.
The MOU between MCPS and the City of Rockville is NOT ready for Prime Time. There is no reason that the City of Rockville should cave in to MCPS just because the construction is finished, when MCPS pulled a fast one on both the City and surrounding communities to begin with by saying that the "project was dead for this year.' (which of course they denied).
For the safety and reasonable enjoyment of our property by the neighboring communities, I respectfully request that the Mayor and Council DO NOT approve any MOU until the above concerns are resolved to the satisfaction of the surrounding communities.
Lyda Astrove
I coached for MSI for about 10 years. A couple notes about the above story:
ReplyDelete1 - BATHROOMS - Were bathrooms available before? Not to my memory. MSI has played on Julies West for a couple decades utilizing every bit of space they could. Why does this matter now?
2 - OVERFLOW PARKING - Once again, did they have this before? Before I coached, and even on occasion when I was coaching, I was asked to do traffic/parking control duty. Sometimes alone but often with 1 or 2 others. When there was nothing available in the parking lot (and we got creative with parking) people searched out in the neighborhoods. I'm sure the neighborhoods didn't care for that but if this is a big problem then limit the number of fields to be used simultaneously. There is no close "overflow" location and people are not going to walk from downtown Rockville to Julius West. Games have typically been staggered in such a way that some cars may have to wait for the previous games to finish and parents leave. Most coaches encourage car pooling anyway. But again, it wasn't required before, and isn't for other fields, why now and why here?
3 - ADA COMPLIANCE? - Why is this being selectively enforced on this field. I know of no school field that has wheelchair access to the field. Even the Germantown Soccerplex has limited wheelchair access to the each field.
4 - SECURITY GUARD? - At great risk of repeating myself, why now and why here? There are other fields with multiple games, going the majority of the day, with many people attending. Why security at this place? I've seen Montgomery County Police come by on occasion but it may have been more because their kid was playing. This has never been a routine before. Has anyone done a study of "incidents" at kids games, collectively, not just Julius West?
Now having said all that I am not a big fan of these athletic turf fields. I understand their benefit but don't feel in the end these are truly going to be cost effective. Not to mention the HUGE artificial turf footprint this particular field is, the heat signature is going to be AWFUL for the kids and parents during the hot months. But I will say that some of the questions from this story should be looked at in a greater context. Why are we asking all of this for JUST the Julius West Fields?
1. Bathrooms - Why didn't it matter before? What public or group event is set up with no bathrooms? Soccer players can and do walk into the woods to relieve themselves. That goes on all the time.
Delete2. Parking - As you are not a parent at the school you were not aware that the fields were used as overflow parking on nights when the school events brought in lots of parents. And, as you are not a neighbor you are not aware of all of the soccer family cars parking in the neighborhoods, filling up side streets and blocking driveways.
3. Ah, so ADA should be ignored also. Got it.
4. Again, you aren't a neighbor and do not understand the issues of living next to a lighted stadium. You also aren't familiar with the attractive nuisance that an unfenced, lighted, lined soccer field creates. At Richard Montgomery HS the field was fenced, but that didn't stop soccer players from cutting a hole in the fence and gaining access to the field when ever they wanted to use it.
These questions get asked for all of the plastic fields and all of the private companies taking over public school playgrounds. This blog is filled with similar posts for many other private field take overs. Nothing new about this discussion. Public school children are simply not valued in Montgomery County, Maryland.
Was one of the coaching regiments irrigation and fertilization of the nearby woods?
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