Lake Zurich youth sports organization wants village government to help fund park upgrades
A privately operated sports organization planning upgrades at a park owned by Lake Zurich taxpayers is seeking public money to pay a portion of the $61,500 project.
Village board members this week heard a pitch from the nonprofit Lake Zurich Baseball and Softball Association regarding $15,000 for the possible construction of a paved path to allow handicapped access from a parking lot to a ball diamond and bleachers at Staples Park. Staples is on Red Bridge Road in southern Lake Zurich.
Under an agreement struck in April, the association serving about 1,200 youths is supposed to maintain, repair and improve diamonds at five village parks in exchange for being the top priority for scheduling.
Documents show the village must pay the entire cost of work on paths and parking lots not exclusively for association use. The agreement runs through Aug. 1, 2016.
Scott Pappas, the association's long-range planning director, asked at a meeting Monday night if the village could pay the $15,000 for the proposed walkway. However, Mayor Thomas Poynton said such money isn't available in the current budget.
Poynton suggested the association "go back to square one" by meeting soon with village public works employees and Special Recreation Association of Central Lake County representatives to determine if other funding is available for the handicapped-accessible project.
"We can't approve it if we don't have the money," he said.
Lake Zurich park and recreation advisory board members last month recommended the village provide the $15,000 to the association. Advisory board members said the expense is justified because the village depends on private organizations, such as the baseball and softball association, to provide recreation programs - Lake Zurich does not have a park district.
Pappas contends Staples Park has been falling into disrepair, and a paved path from the parking lot to the ball diamond would be a significant upgrade.
"It's very difficult to get any sort of handicapped accessibility to the field-area bleachers for people who want to watch the games there," he said.
Most of the association's softball and baseball players live in Lake Zurich, but some children are from Hawthorn Woods and other nearby communities.
About $4,000 has been paid by the association for a survey and creation of a multiphase plan for Staples Park. The association also would pay $25,000 for field fencing and bleachers, with other expenses possibly incurred by the village for the $61,500 overall plan.