Future of Palmetto Ballfields Looks Bleak

PALMETTO – Despite the pleas of Mayor Shirley Bryant, Manatee County and the School Board declined to contribute funds to the construction of the combined facility for the Palmetto Little League and the YMCA. Nowhere listed in the proposal was the bid for a pool, which the YMCA may require to participate in the venture.  A regulation pool is predicted to be an extra $3 million. The project remains exceedingly under-funded, but is at the top of the county’s CIP list of future undertakings.

The Palmetto City Commission has become disgruntled because they feel that they have done most of the leg work after the original fields were demolished to accommodate the new Palmetto Elementary School. 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.

”We have accomplished the major thing we wanted to accomplish – to get children in a safer environment. When the ball fields were at the previous site, there was no stability of remaining in that location.  They’ve never been provided permanent fields. We feel that providing ball fields really isn’t the responsibility of the city – but we are maintaining our commitment and feel it is very important to continue to work in that direction,“ said Bryant at the Council of Governments meeting on Tuesday.

The PCC has been pushing for the YMCA and Ballfields to be located at Blackstone Park so that Palmetto High School could have easy access to utilize facilities. The success of the $4.8 million venture is dependent on several grants and the relocation of Twenty-Third Street in order to progress.  The plans included a 16,000 square-foot building which would provide 50-75 jobs not including the workforce employed for construction.

”If there is an entity that would like to take this on, we’d be glad for them to because it has been like pushing a giant boulder up a mountain,“ said Bryant.

The involvement of the YMCA is crucial for the project not only to maintain the property, but because the creation of jobs would lock-in a CDBG-ED grant of $750,000 and possibly a Road Trust Fund Grant that would provide $2 million.

”For the CDBG-ED grant, there is no competitive grouping or scoring for any type of development. If you have the jobs, they are willing to sign the forms – you get the money,“ said YMCA representative Deborah Golden-Gestner at the Council of Governments meeting on Tuesday.

The YMCA has agreed to fund their complete facility as long as the City of Palmetto pays for the ball fields and the pool.  Partnered with the CRA, the organization hired a national marketing firm to conduct a residential study via city utility bills that would determine if citizens want a pool. If there was no desire for one, the YMCA would consider participating with only the ball fields to launch construction. Since there are no public pools in the city, the latter will predictably not transpire.

Though the expansion has benefited the project in some ways, the extensive delay has been detrimental to others.

”The Little League is dying,“ said North River American Little League parent Richard Russo. ”We’re having to share the fields with church softball leagues. I can’t even take my son to play in another district unless the board will sign a waiver. They won’t do it unless there aren’t enough kids in his age group to form a team.“

In the five years that have passed,  the NRALL has suffered a major decline in participation. Their organization has diminished by over a third. Currently the NRALL is playing on the fields at Blackstone, but has to adjust its schedule to comply with other leagues that also utilize the fields.

Lack of communication has left NRALL participants with little or no information about how the project is progressing.

”We’ve found out most of what we know from the newspaper,“ said Derek Goforth, vice president of the NRALL. ”Not having a place to call home is a constant question that you have to deal with for parents and spectators. The lack of communication has put people in awkward situations at times when we don’t have answers, or keep repeating news that is months old.“

All parties involved will address the matter formally at a later date.