Last night”s front page featured our supervisors giving their various positions on the Burns Bottom location for the development of soccer fields. The strongest in favor of the site came from Mr. Sanders whose opinion was that he could think of “no better use for the land.”
He has taken his eye off the ball. The problem is not to find a use for the land but to build a true sportsplex. His is hardly a ringing endorsement considering the needs of our youth when future expansion there is impossible.
The others, with the exception of Mr. Brooks had nothing to add other than they seem to feel that they need to build something, somewhere, soon, and they”ll vote in favor if the others will. Instead of voting for a logical site, or considering the community”s future need, they”ve apparently decided to go along to get along.
Mr. Ferguson said that his constituents were against Burns Bottom, I suggest he vote accordingly. Mr. Holliman stated that he would vote to support it if nothing better came along. Well maybe Mr. Brooks can show him a cheaper and more suitable alternative. Mr. Smith was lukewarm to the whole affair.
I”ve seldom read such pathetic positions on a taxpayer funded project. The lack of any long- range planning and the fact that soccer fields alone don”t advance the idea of a community sportsplex is enough reason to reject the site. At best, soccer fields at Burns Bottom is a wasteful, stop-gap measure designed to say only that action was taken.
This only kicks the ball further downfield. The needs and costs of a real sportsplex in the future escalate while land becomes more scarce. Our supervisors are hardly scoring points with their positions and appear to be losing sight of the goal while we pay to watch this expensive game. A timeout is in order to plan a winning strategy for our kids and our pocketbooks before sheer inertia makes the final decision.
Laird Bagnall
Columbus
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
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