Supervisor Charles Harris (D-Broad Run) pitched a funding idea to the Finance and Government Services Committee for acquiring and constructing new athletic fields.
Harris proposed county residents pay a $5 dedicated field preparation fee each time they participate in youth and possibly adult sports and a $10 fee for non-county residents. The fee is expected to generate $320,000 in Fiscal Year (FY) 2004 to help the Department of Parks, Recreation and Community Services expand the number of fields the county has available for practices and games.
"We just haven't put enough money toward getting fields. This is one way with user fees we can expand our athletic field facilities," Harris said.
The level of participation in recreation sports requires the county to acquire 40 new fields each year to keep up with the county's pace of growth, according to findings from the Department of Parks, Recreation and Community Services, Harris said. The department estimates that in FY-04, 63,000 people will participate in youth sports and another 10,000 people in adult sports.
"To this point, we haven't gotten new fields except those proffered or through schools. It has been a long time since the county procured ball fields," Harris said.
The school district allows the Department of Parks, Recreation and Community Services to use fields at existing school sites while at new schools limits the access to one year after the fields are planted.
"Most of the rec leagues get access to elementary school and middle school fields," Harris said, adding that the high school fields are used more frequently by school teams than the fields at elementary and middle schools. "They always seem to have their fields in use."
Implementing the user fee may be complicated. Since mid-2001, the county has managed adult sports programs, while youth sports are administered by league associations though they are affiliated with the county.
Supervisor James Burton (I-Mercer), committee chairman, said he was not sure how he will vote on the fee once it reaches the full board but agreed to vote in favor of it at the committee level. The fee passed with a 2-0-1 vote with Drew Hiatt (R-Dulles) absent.
IN OTHER BUSINESS, the committee approved the suggested name of Conklin Community Park for a proffered park site in South Riding. The name reflects on the name of an African-American heritage area called Conklin Village, which was once located where South Riding began developing in 1995.
The Parks and Recreation Advisory Board suggested the name for the 34-acre park site following a public participation process that provided 34 suggested names. The park will include a basketball court, three tennis courts, a volleyball court and two soccer fields, along with parking areas.