City of Palmetto Looks at Three Alternatives for Ball Fields

PALMETTO–The Palmetto City Commission has been in ”Phase Two“ of the Blackstone Park/Little League Field Project for the last two years. With tentative benchmarks for ”Phase Three“ deadlines approaching, the city still lacks funding and hasn’t made a concrete decision where the location of ball fields will be.

A shortfall of at least $1.25 million still plagues the ongoing ball field plan. The success of the $4.8 million venture is dependent on several grants in order to progress. A Road Trust Fund Grant would provide $2 million contingent that YMCA be located at Blackstone, a CDBG-ED grant would add $750,000, and the City of Palmetto’s $800,000 contribution still isn’t enough to complete the project. The project’s conclusion is in the hands of Manatee County and the School Board both of which have yet to commit to a specific amount but formally agreed to contribute.

All parties will be meeting together tonight to discuss the fate of the undertaking after the Council of Governments Meeting at the Civic Center at 4:00 p.m., specifically to focus on any formal commitments in order to bridge the funding gap.

”I’m glad we’re meeting with the other entities because this has been a hard-fought battle for several years now,“ said Commissioner Tambra Varnadore. ”We are the smallest dog in the pack, but we are ones carrying the biggest load.“

Last night, the commission unanimously approved an inspection period extension that was to expire on Jan 7, 2011. The motion included additional advancement with mandatory environmental testing still needed. It also authorized the City Attorney to request an additional extension of inspection period with Manatee Fruit and/or authorized the mayor to terminate the agreement if the extension cannot be reached. Without the extension, the city would be locked into the deal with Manatee Fruit and not have the option to terminate.

YMCA representative Deborah Golden-Gestner assured the board that she can go ahead to obtain the grants despite the location because the YMCA is dedicated to constructing a site in the Palmetto area regardless of where the Little League Fields are placed.

Several options for site locations and the impacts of each scenario were presented in the meeting Monday night. All the hypothetical options are dependent on a market survey which will be dispersed to city residents via utility bills.

”The options are heavily dependent on the grants – the timeline is stretching out further and further. There are a lot of contingencies associated with them,“ said Jim Freeman. ”The Road Trust Fund is really the piece that needs to happen. We’re looking at the end of the summer which is why we started looking at other options.“

1. If the market study determined that Blackstone is the best location for the YMCA, both the ball fields and YMCA would be constructed at that location. Manatee Fruit Company has asked for another extension, probably due to the argument over legal fees by the Palmetto City Commission. If the city went with its original plan it would receive a CDBG-ED grant for the road relocation of $2.75 million, plus the $800,000 from the city would put the shortfall at $1.25 million.  The construction would be estimated to begin in Summer/Fall of 2011.
2. If the market study determines that Blackstone is not the best location for the new YMCA then the Ball Fields would be located at Blackstone without YMCA. The city could still proceed with the Little League fields at Blackstone and would still be eligible for the CDBG-ED grant, but not the Road Trust Grant which would increase the shortfall to $3.2 million.
3. If the city decides to find a new location the total costs are estimated at $3-3.5 million, $2 million for the construction and $1-1.5 million for the land (unless it was donated). There would be no need to move Twenty-third Avenue and Tenth Street could still be extended to receive the CDBG-ED grant. However the city would still face a shortfall of $2.2-2.7 million.

Hopefully tomorrow night’s meeting will shine some light on many of the funding and location woes that have seemed to plague the project from the start. With 2011 being the fifth year for the plan, residents are anticipating resolutions and players are pining for their much needed fields.