It is still a few months before Lowndes County Board of Supervisors and the Columbus City Council begin work on their Fiscal Year 2017 budgets, but it is not too soon to give serious thought to a project whose time has come.
For five years now, the non-profit Golden Triangle Outdoors, which provides outdoor activities for our area’s disabled residents, has been trying to put together financing to build a disabled-accessible multi-sports facility in Columbus.
But as of today, this “Field of Dreams” remains “just a dream.”
In September, just as the two local governments were finishing their 2016 budgets, the group approached the supervisors and council with a request for $100,000 each, which they would combine with $150,000 in private cash/in-kind services to build the facility.
The timing was not good. Not only were the budgets nearing the completion stage, but both the county and city were already facing shortfalls in their planned budgets — $750,000 for the county and $178,000 for the city.
At the time, both government bodies said they supported the project, but said the money simply wasn’t available.
Hopefully, both the county and the city will find the budget outlook more promising this year. Even so, demands always exceed available funds. That isn’t likely to change as supervisors and council members weigh competing interests and designate the money where it is deemed most needed.
Certainly, there is every reason to believe that the “Field of Dreams” will be given a fair hearing.
Having an audience great. So are expressions of support.
But what is needed goes beyond that. What is needed is a financial commitment.
That means helping this group find funding — whether it be through direct allocations or grant assistance.
Our county and city have wonderful parks, public spaces and sports venues that have been built with taxpayer money for the enjoyment of all citizens. Yet for the disabled, sports venues remain inaccessible.
Currently there are about 50 such citizens playing on a regular field at Propst Park. The proposed field will be handicap-accessible and will have a rubberized feature to ease falls.
The benefits of sports programs are widely proclaimed. People, especially children, are enriched through sports in any number of ways. Sports are good for our physical and mental health, are a source of recreation, a means of building relationship and learning life lessons that translate from the playing field to every-day life — everything from team-work to discipline to work ethic.
Are these wonderful things to remain the exclusive domain of the able-bodied?
Members of Golden Triangle Outdoors certainly don’t hold that view nor should our local officials.
The time has come that our local government to act by funding the “Field of Dreams” project.
It is time for this dream to come true.
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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