From: Robert Pennington
To: City Council
Subject: Keep Polley Field
Date: Sunday, January 30, 2022 8:39:41 PM
Hello Council Members,
I strongly encourage you to adopt a Calder Creek naturalization plan and Ives Park master plan that retains Polley Field. The little league field gets a tremendous amount of use and is a treasure of Sebastopol.
I have not and do not play baseball, but I often walk through the park and stop and see the ball field in action. It is joy to see folks gathering and having fun in and around the field.
Generally, the rest of the park will be mostly empty, while the field is a hub of activity. It would be a shame to remove this feature from our town.
I support the naturalization of the creek, and am in favor of Option B that preserves the ball field, creates a large event field, and a natural creek and riparian zone.
Please also remove the dog park idea from any adopted option. Ragle has a dog park; it's great; I have a dog; I see no need to set aside additional space for a dog park in Ives Park.
I also support action to resurface the Polley Field, and possibly the future event field, with a synthetic "grass". This would have numerous benefits including much lower long term maintenance costs, no water use, and an all season surface that would allow the field to be open to the public all day and all year! It could also be designed and striped for additional sports such as soccer.
Please support option B, keep Polley Field, and upgrade the field to an all season surface! Thank you for your service to our town,
Rob Pennington