From: Kerry Colunga
To: City Council
Subject: Save Polley Field!
Date: Friday, January 28, 2022 5:40:41 PM
Hello Council Members,
I am writing to express my concern and disagreement with any plan that gets rid of Ives Park Polley Field in an effort to naturalize the stream that runs through it. Considering that 3 separate plans were introduced and that these plans are named in such a way as to sway the public into selecting the plan with the most favorable “stable” label is shameful. They should have been named simply Plan A, Plan B and Plan C without the suggestive titles with which they were presented.
As the parent of a child that has found the love of playing Little League (as well as the parent of seven other children who have grown up in Sebastopol and 2 of which also played Little League when they were younger) and the spouse of a Little League Coach who volunteers approximately 80 hours monthly helping to teach children the sport of baseball. Baseball helps these children with their self-esteem, learn team collaboration, tenacity, hand-eye coordination, positivity and get much needed exercise in an era where electronics rule a young persons life. Times are different now than they were when we were young and extracurricular team sports, and even robust physical education programs are no longer funded through the schools! I feel very strongly about preserving Polley Field. Polley Field is the only field with lighting in Sebastopol and provides hundreds of young and aspiring baseball players the chance to hone their skills and play throughout the year. These children really look forward to advancing through the sport and being able to play at Polley Field with the lights on!
Of the Plans that were presented at the December 2021 meeting, Plan B would be the happy medium between preserving Polley Field and achieving the naturalization. Please don’t take Polley Field away.
Thank you,
Kerry E. Colunga