With the Fort Borst Park field artificial turf project complete, the Centralia City Council and Centralia School Board held a joint meeting on Tuesday, March 4, inside the Centralia High School Performing Arts Center to discuss what should be done with leftover project funds.
Turfing some of Borst Park’s fields has been an ongoing joint effort at a number of the baseball and softball fields in order to make them playable even if it's still a bit soggy.
Due to seasonal rain keeping the fields unusable for weeks at a time going into spring in the past, many regional tournaments and teams have found artificially turfed fields elsewhere to play on. The project’s goal is to get them back playing at Borst Park.
It was carried out by the Centralia School District (CSD), the Twin Cities Sports Commission (TCSC) and the Lewis County Public Facilities District (PFD).
Of the nearly $4.8 million in combined funding for the project, around $500,000 remains, according to Amy Buckler, governing board member and Centralia deputy city manager and parks director.
The CSD had a total of $3,370,000 budgeted to turf the fields of the Quad Complex. A total of $2,400,000 of that came from the state budget.
Additional funding came from a TransAlta grant totalling $430,000, and the TCSC provided $110,000 while the PFD provided $400,000. The City of Centralia used $1.45 million of its American Rescue Plan Act funds for this project.
No motions to move forward with any other projects using the leftover funds were made during the meeting, as the gathering was more of a work session to get the council’s and school board’s opinions on certain ideas, along with taking public comment on the project so far.
Buckler was joined by her fellow governing board members, PFD Board President Ron Averill and CSD Superintendent Lisa Grant, during Tuesday’s meeting.
Since the main goal of the turfing project was to install artificial turf and get more out-of-area baseball and softball tournaments returning, the main focus of the governing board is now to get more parking in or near Borst Park to accommodate youth sports teams using the newly turfed fields.
“We know we need to address the parking situation. This feels especially urgent. There’s a congestion problem, and it’s a source of contention within the community,” Buckler said. “And it also creates a situation where when visitors are coming, they don’t ever want to give up their parking spot, go shop in the outlet malls or go downtown. They would rather bring their cooler and sit and eat a peanut butter and jelly sandwich all the live-long day, because they’re afraid of losing their spot.”
Buckler went on to explain the governing board had already been looking at 10 different possible parking projects in or near Borst Park. They narrowed it down to ones they thought were most feasible and sensible and presented them Tuesday.
The first option would involve installing between parking stalls north of the Centralia Tigers Stadium on the south side of Mt. Vista Road. This option would require moving a fence and possibly getting an easement along with paving some of the grassy area.
“It would add between 75 and 100 spots, if we were able to do that,” Grant added.
One downside to the first option is people parking would be required to back their cars into the spaces, as backing out into a roadway is illegal in Centralia.
“Which would change the viewing experience for many people at Tiger Stadium, because they pull in and try to watch games from there,” Grant said.
The second option would be to remove the bioswales by the Quad Complex and expand the existing parking lot there, adding an estimated 115 more parking spots.
Buckler stated without the bioswale, stormwater would be redirected to nearby ponds.
“I’m not sure if it’s gonna pass through the site plan review committee because it does involve — this is not a road, but it’s a fire access lane. And it would involve cars backing out into a fire access lane, and I’m not sure the fire marshal would approve that,” Buckler said.
The final option involved two separate proposals, both dealing with the gravel parking lot near the Pioneer Soccer Fields.
“The way people park there, because it’s gravel and it’s not marked, does not maximize the use of the space at all,” Buckler said. “... The main challenge with this one is, this is in the flood course.”
The first proposal for adding parking by the Pioneer Soccer Fields would simply be to pave the gravel areas, as Buckler stated there may even be enough room for two rows of parking spots. The second proposal involved rotating the soccer fields themselves to create space, which can be paved for parking between the Pioneer Soccer Fields and the Quad Complex just north of it.
“We have talked about this with a few of the leaders of the Centralia Youth Soccer folks. They said, ‘We’re open to you exploring it further,’” Buckler said. “… It does involve removing part of the grass field, so that’s a consideration for the city and the city council.”
These proposals could add anywhere between 100 and 165 parking spots.
Several Centralia School District parents were in attendance and shared their thoughts on the proposed parking along with the turfing project overall.
One parent, Mary Beth Geringer, wanted to ensure those heading up the project were still keeping local students on their mind.
“I remember when this idea was floated and started back 14, 15 years ago, and what I recall was that it was going to be a benefit to our kids. What I’ve heard a lot tonight is really focused on economics. Is it bringing money in? Is it paying for this? Is it paying for that?” Geringer said.
While she did understand the need to help the local economy, she wanted to ensure local kids playing sports for the school district have the same access to the fields as visitors.
Another parent, Stephanie Strophy, was concerned about the safety of the parking proposal on Mt. Vista Road. According to Strophy, who lives just off Mt. Vista, the traffic situation is already dangerous in the area.
“Since the dawn of time, that has been the roughest area. Kids fly from the high school to be down at the Blockhouse or the baseball fields,” Strophy said.
Her daughter was recently involved in a car accident where her car was struck and totalled by a distracted driver going through the area.
Another parent was opposed to paving any of the land used by the soccer fields. She was also concerned the Centralia High School girls fastpitch softball team still didn’t have its own designated field.
On top of adding more parking, the project’s governing board asked both the council and school board to begin thinking about what amendments need to be made to the Borst Park sports complex governance agreement now that the turfing project is complete.
Since the turfing project has been completed, the governance agreement needs to be updated, as it was established before the Borst Park Sports Complex and the Annex were built.
Among some of the ideas Buckler wanted included in the updated governance agreement was ensuring local benefits, sustainable staffing levels, strategies to maximize economic benefit and, of course, parking.
“We’re constantly weighing and balancing these issues, and they’re gonna need to remain front and center,” Buckler said.
Buckler also repeated her invitation to community members to attend the open house celebration for the turfing project’s completion, scheduled for Friday, March 14, from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. at Wheeler Field in Borst Park.
Following the meeting Tuesday, Centralia City Manager Michael Thomas told The Chronicle he was thankful for the work of Buckler, Grant and Averill, in addition to the school district’s staff for its preparation of the Performing Arts Center.
