01/20/2005 - Laserfiche WebLink

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OPENED PUBLIC COMMENT , Jane Lombard, spoke to Council as a parent, coach, regional commissioner and cardiologist. She offered that there were probably 300-400 Los Altos Hills children participating in soccer programs. Lombard concurred with the Council's assessment that the land was a valuable resource and encouraged them to support the proposal. She explained the difficulty in finding adequate playing fields and noted that spring soccer had been cancelled and teams were looking for indoor gym space for practice areas. She suggested that the field had the potential to bring the community of Los Altos and Los Altos Hills together and urged the Council to work with the School District to investigate the revitalization of the Bullis field. Sandy Humphries, Fremont Road, expressed her concern with the use of synthetic turf. She did not believe the safety concerns had been adequately addressed. Nicki Locker, resident, explained that her children all actively participated in sports. Her son was a baseball player who had the option of using the wonderful Los Altos Hills baseball fields, however, her daughters played soccer and there were no fields in Town for them. She would like to see this remedied and for the girls to have the same opportunities and the same access to facilities. Jamie Kelly, Ravensbury Avenue, explained that Town residents are often shut out of using other local communities' fields because they are used by residents. He described the lack of field resources for the soccer teams. A synthetic field would be preferable • because it is the least impacted by weather and wouldbe the easiest to maintain and sustain for year round play. Henry Nesmith, Templeton Place, thanked the Council for reviewing the proposal. He supported the project and noted that he would support it financially. Nesmith explained that the field would be a community asset that could be enjoyed and used by the soccer clubs, public and small schools. Mike Stanley, Julietta Lane, voiced his opinion that this area had the worst facilities for youth sports. There are no sports courts, La Cross fields, soccer fields, only baseball fields. He believed there was only one lot available for development and that was here at Bullis. Stanley offered his opinion that the Los Altos School District was interested in retaining the school site and believed there was a precedent in them working with a municipality (City of Los Altos) for the development of sports facilities. He added that there was a core group of people that would support the project financially and would work to bring the project to fruition. Resident, Priscilla Lane, encouraged Council to consider the proposal. He was a coach and treasurer for CYSA and.commented that he was confident that the club could meet the financial goals necessary to fund the development of the field. CLOSED PUBLIC COMMENT 6 City Council Meeting Minutes January 20,2005