Softball became a main talking point at the Parks commission’s June 1 workshop. Dannelle Tomarchio spoke about the need for Lake Leatherwood’s baseball field to be repaired for fast pitch women’s softball tournaments.
She said that the ES School District had shown interest in maintaining Van Pelt Stadium as well as making repairs needed to that ballfield but that two fields would be needed to host tournaments since Van Pelt does not having working lights for evening games. She said that she has a bachelor’s in Sports Management from Wichita State University
Tomarchio explained that the Leatherwood baseball field required infield repairs that would cost around $4,000 and then more consistent maintenance to keep the fields up to USSSA tournament regulations. She said that it would be possible to host a tournament a month for Fast Pitch Softball leagues in Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Kansas and that there was interest from teams in those states to visit Eureka Springs if it were to host such tournaments.
Tomarchio gave commissioners information on what cost would look like per tournament if the department took up the job of hosting the event with cost per tournament being around $5,000 with a projected $1,000 in profit. The department would need to hire a tournament director. She also spoke about the possibility of having community leagues that could play if the fields were repaired.
Chair Kevin Ruehle said that the commission was in a Catch-22, that the ballfield was expensive to repair and has been left unused over the years and that the commission would need to see the demand for its use. There was also confusion about whether Parks was being pitched on fully taking over the running of tournaments, and Ruehle referenced the soccer league that handles all costs of playing beyond what maintenance is done.
Tomarchio clarified she would be willing to lease the fields and run the tournaments herself. She stressed that the economic impact of travel softball teams coming would be around $27,000. Ruehle asked that she provide the facility standards to the commission so they could figure out cost and how they could offset cost. He continued saying that they would need a proof-of-concept to see if she could bring in the teams she felt she could and see what the impact to the facilities would be.
Magnetic Spring can be draining
Commissioners heard from Stacy Mahurin of Stacy Stoneworks to give an overview of repairs of the damaged basin work at Magnetic Spring.
He explained that the original drains for the basin aren’t connected to a tinhorn that the city installed in 2008 and he felt that was the problem with the drainage. Water is flowing into the soil and not able to drain fast enough during heavy rainfalls causing the basin to overflow.
Mahurin’s bid covers stonework and he spoke of how the spring had been repaired and rebuilt multiple times. He said the stonework on the front was veneered on with concrete, speculating that it was in the ‘50s and is not historic stonework that was there originally. He said that he would be building functional dams to keep the water from flowing out with concrete.
He said that there would be a façade to look like old stonework on the front with a stonecap to work with the concrete to keep the water from flowing out of the basin through the cracks between the stones.
Final Item
Miskiel said that the Arts Council is proposing a donation of three pieces of art for Harmon Park and would eventually be part of a park art walk project. Donations would follow the guidelines for public art installations and would need to be approved by multiple commissions and city council.