Residents living along the property line of the field between Lakeville Elementary and Oxford Middle School are upset over the district’s plan to construct an estimated $1.2 million athletic facility at that location.
According to the November 2009 voter-approved bond issue, which is financing the project, the athletic facility will include a new football/soccer field and track, storage building with restrooms, scoreboard and sound system, and walkways to access the field and track.
The total cost of the project is $1,238,848.
Concerns about noise, excess garbage, traffic, vandalism and other things were raised at several meetings over the last few weeks by homeowners on Lakes Edge Dr. in the Oxford Lakes subdivision.
At the March 22 board of education meeting, resident Mary Ann Baxter voiced her concern about the district building this facility while facing a projected $4.8 million budget deficit for the 2010-11 school year.
‘Why would you want to build this field in this type of (economic) climate? Wouldn’t this be a better time to postpone or rethink the construction of this new athletic field due to the potential deficit that you are facing?? she said.
Oxford Lakes Association President Charlie Stevens echoed her thoughts.
‘They are looking to try and determine where they can make operational cost reductions because of the potential deficit facing the school district. This site is just one example where they are going to add additional operational costs,? he said.
‘The concessions are going to generate more trash, hence there will be more groundskeepers needed to pick up that trash and the seating will need to be cleaned, so those are built-in, additional operating costs,? Stevens noted.
Oxford Schools Superintendent Dr. William Skilling met with home owners on Saturday March 27 to address their concerns.
According to Stevens, one of the biggest areas of concern for residents is the amount of noise that will be generated from this new facility.
‘Typically, what we had was kids out there early on a Saturday morning, usually 7 a.m., starting practice. And whether it was game or practice, they were just as loud,? he said.
Skilling said the noise level should decrease because there will be two ball fields instead of three.
He also added that the nature of the noise concern had to do with the Oxford Recreational Baseball Association (ORBA) and their use of the fields and a generator on Saturday mornings.
‘That issue really has nothing to do with the new facility we are building, and that concern they had I was not aware of,? he said. ‘So we need to work with the organization, which we are.?
Skilling added that use of the ball diamonds would not start until 8:30 a.m. on the weekends and that generators would not be allowed.
Resident Fred Nelson also pointed out that in the original site plan, the track’s start/finish line and bleachers would have been 50 feet from the property line.
‘That is where all of the action and all of the noise and everything was going to be,? he said.
The track would have been 50 feet from the property line, while one of the ball diamonds only 40 feet away from it. ‘Foul balls would have been raining down on the homes,? said Nelson.
According to Stevens, kids currently jump the existing fence in order to retrieve baseballs that go into people’s yards, and over time, the fence has broken in spots.
In order to address those concerns, the site plan was redrawn so the bleachers and press box would be on the opposite side of the field, away from the property line and a baseball diamond would be moved.
‘We have three different layouts, and the one that will probably work the best would be to move it such that the third base line would be 91 feet from the property fence.?
Skilling also said that eight-foot evergreen trees would be planted between the athletic facility and their neighborhood property line fence in order to act as a natural fence to shield some of the noise and to allow the residents to have some privacy. Also, a six-foot fence would also go around the athletic facility.
Skilling is proposing to either repair the existing six-foot fence or put in a new eight foot fence. ‘We are open to whatever they would like to have there,? he said.
Stevens also voiced concern over the amount of trash.
‘We have a large amount of litter being left behind, whether it’s from the football teams or baseball teams that are out there…garbage cans are not generally getting emptied and I have gone over there myself and emptied them and put the garbage out on my curb,? said Stevens.
He added that when he walked over to the Board of Education meeting at Lakeville Elementary on March 22, he noticed that garbage cans were overflowing and trash was all over the place.
A solution was reached at the meeting . Grounds maintenance would pick up the trash and that ORBA would remove trash after each game that was played.
One resident, Linda Campbell, raised concerns about the possibility of increased traffic flow in the subdivision and people parking on Lakes Edge Dr. in order to cut through and attend games or practices.
Skilling responded by saying that the prime parking for anyone coming to an event would be in the school parking lots, not in Oxford Lakes.
‘It would be more of an inconvenience for people to park in Oxford Lakes and come through to the facility because the entrance is on the opposite end,? Skilling said.
Even though the district is moving ahead with plans to build the facility, Nelson said he was impressed that Skilling and the board of education were willing to hear their concerns and make some changes.
‘Our goal is to be good neighbors,? Skilling said. ‘Even though we have the right to do this, it doesn’t mean that we want to not be good neighbors in the process. I think that at the end of the day, this will be a tremendous enhancement versus detriment to the families that live right next door to the facilities.?
‘We have three different layouts, and the one that will probably work the best would be to move it such that the third base line would be 91 feet from the property fence.?
Skilling also said that eight foot evergreen trees would be planted between the athletic facility and their neighborhood property line fence in order to act as a natural fence to shield some of the noise and to allow the residents to have some privacy.
In addition, a six foot fence would also go around the athletic facility.
Skilling is proposing to either repair the existing six-foot fence or put in a new eight foot fence. ‘We are open to whatever they would like to have there,? he said.
Stevens also voiced concern over the amount of trash that was being left behind.
‘We have a large amount of litter being left behind, whether it’s from the football teams or baseball teams that are out there…garbage cans are not generally getting emptied and I have gone over there myself and emptied them and put the garbage out on my curb,? said Stevens.
He added that when we walked over to the Board of Education meeting at Lakeville Elementary on March 22, he noticed that garbage cans were overflowing and that trash was all over the place.
A solution was reached at their meeting that grounds maintenance would pick up the trash and that ORBA would remove trash after each game that was played.
One resident, Linda Campbell, raised concerns about the possibility for increased traffic flow in the subdivision and people parking on Lakes Edge Dr. in order to cut through and attend games or practices.
Skilling responded by saying that the prime parking for anyone coming to an event would be in the school parking lots, not in Oxford Lakes.
‘I think that what we have done to the entry is to the new facility, it would be more of an inconvenience for people to park in Oxford Lakes and come through to the facility because the entrance is on the opposite end,? said Skilling.
Even though the district is moving ahead with plans to build the facility, Nelson said that he was impressed that Dr. Skilling and the Board of Education were willing to hear their concerns and make some changes.
‘Our goal is to be good neighbors,? said Skilling. Even though we have the right to do this, it doesn’t mean that we want to not be good neighbors in the process. I think that at the end of the day, this will be a tremendous enhancement verse detriment to the families that live right next door to the facilities.?