Northwood News ♦ April 2008

Council Votes to Put Soccer Field Back in Parks CIP Budget

Construction Not Scheduled Until 2015

By Carole Barth

Despite the budget shortfall and despite the wishes of our community, the County Executive, several other downcounty communities, several County-wide citizen organizations, and even against the wishes of local soccer enthusiasts, the County Council voted to put the North Four Corners Park Soccer Field project back in the Parks FY2009-2014 CIP budget. Added to other Council CIP actions, the budget shortfall is now significantly worse than it was under the County Executive’s CIP recommendations.

Theoretically, the park project could be reconsidered before the Council takes its final vote on the whole CIP, but that is very unlikely. The Council can also amend the CIP at any time, but that is usually only done to address emergency shortfalls once a project is actually underway. This means that our best chance to reverse this decision will be when the next CIP is developed, two years from now.

In addition, the current Council members’ terms will expire in December 2010, so we will have the opportunity to let both incumbents and new candidates know how much voters care about this issue before it comes before the Council again.

So let me be clear about what the Council did. They chose to ignore the voters and instead listen only to Council and Parks staff. They relied on a heavily biased, wildly inaccurate report and verbal statements from staff, both of which completely misrepresented our position. We were not allowed to speak to offer corrections. They rushed to vote on this issue, even though construction would not take place until 2015.

We tried to counter the misinformation by sending the Council:

an updated copy of our Community-developed alternative for the park,
a 17-page debunking of the staff document, and
bullets outlining a win-win solution for preserving Rachel Carson Meadow, saving money, and improving soccer field availability.

They did not allow enough time in the process to even review the materials we sent. Nor did they listen when two of our state legislators (Mike Lennet and Roger Manno) asked them to postpone action on the park for a year even though our district is currently without a County Council Representative.

Most disturbing of all, their primary reason was that it would “set a dangerous precedent” to listen to affected communities:

Staff notes that the Council would be setting a precedent if it determined that this local park should not have an athletic field. Since residents adjacent to parks frequently ask that their park remain undeveloped and oppose any park facility that attracts residents from outside the immediate neighborhood (e.g., hard surface trails and ballfields), it will be difficult to deal with future objections to locating fields in local parks. This in turn will make it more difficult to meet the need for land for active recreational purposes.

Staff strongly believes that a decision not to place a multi-use field in this local park would set a dangerous precedent and lead to future requests for active recreational areas to be changed to passive uses to minimize impacts on adjacent communities.

At the same time, it became clear that a very ugly rumor about our community was circulating — specifically, that our opposition to the destruction of Rachel Carson Meadow for a soccer field is rooted in racism. We sent letters explaining that nothing could be farther from the truth and expressing what a deeply offensive accusation this is. We submitted data showing that our community is actually more diverse than the county at large and that our Elementary School, Forest Knolls, is a “majority minority” school with a student body that is 69 percent minorities.

As I already stated, none of this information deterred the Council. I believe that is the real “dangerous precedent” of this affair. Are whole communities to be excluded from the decision-making process because they will be affected by the decision? Are diverse communities to be disenfranchised because of ignorant rumor-mongers?

This is pretty scary stuff, and not just for our community. If this decision is allowed to stand, then it can be applied to any public project and citizens are wasting their time going to meetings or writing letters to their elected representatives because the agencies are free to dictate our communities’s quality of life.

In addition, they are finally acknowledging that MNCPPC’s mismanagement of its facilities has turned what should be public amenities into public nuisances that must be imposed on communities regardless of the cost or inappropriateness of the site characteristics.

The Good News

Yes, there is some good news. We are not alone. The County Executive, Ike Leggett, has stood firm in his opposition to the soccer field project. We are also getting support from some of our state legislators. We continue to have the support of the Montgomery County Civic Federation and other citizen groups. We have collected more than 660 signatures on our petition. Individuals from outside our neighborhood who support preserving green space, providing sensible soccer fields, and promoting responsive and responsible government are supporting our efforts. With a team like this, it doesn’st make sense to quit now.

This is not the end. In December of 2010, work will begin on the next CIP cycle, and a new Council will take office. We’sve kept pushing for five years already; let’s see the race through.

We have also gained some things from this struggle. We have increased our membership numbers and more and more residents have become actively involved. Although the work is hard and frustrating at times, it is a genuine pleasure to work together with so many talented, caring people. We have amassed an incredible amount of valuable information and experience. Our network is much wider than it was a few years ago and it continues to expand. In fact, I am now getting calls and emails from other communities asking for our advice on combating out-of-control agencies. All of these things make us stronger and better able to work toward a sustainable community with a high quality of life.

Finally, let’s take some inspiration from our Nation’s founding. Remember, George Washington lost every battle except the last one. The key is not to hibernate for the next two years, but to work steadily and strategically toward the next Council and CIP. If we continue to build partnerships and broaden our coalition, we will prevail. As the saying goes, “El pueblo unido jamas sera vencido.” United we will never be defeated. ■