Kevin Glasheen
Council Member
| At the December council meeting, we considered and denied the request by Western Hills Little League to place artificial turf in the infield of Field #1. I received a lot of feedback from residents opposing artificial turf. Phil McDuffee and I have been working with Chad Smith and the leadership of Western Hills Little League (WHLL), along with Rollingwood city staff to see what we can do to improve the fields. The first and most obvious improvement is to have a regular turf maintenance program, with regular applications of preemergent weed control, fertilizer and irrigation water. Our city administration and Maintenance departments are all new within the last year. I cannot speak to previous years or previous city staff, but I am excited about the progress we are making, working with the Mayor, and our City Administrator Ashley Wayman to implement a reasonable and regular turf maintenance program. We should see real results in the quality of the natural grass fields by the end of the Summer. We are also working with Chad Smith and WHLL to improve Field #1 immediately. WHLL has pivoted from artificial turf to considering new sod in the infield, which I support. This item will be on the next council agenda in January for council approval, and I am very much inclined to support the request. Longer term, Phill McDuffee and I are working with WHLL to develop a plan to improve all the ball fields, beyond improved maintenance. We are studying a soil amendment program that we may be able to implement this Fall after baseball season. More on that later in the year as plans develop. |
A Possible Irrigation Well in the Park |
| I had proposed that we consider placing an irrigation well in the park to save on the cost of watering the fields. I have investigated the issue and believe a water well could be feasible. However, we don’t have enough data about how often the previous administration watered the fields and how much water was being used. I asked council to table the water well issue until the end of this Summer, so we can look back on Spring and Summer water usage and do a cost benefit analysis. You’ll be hearing more from me about that next Fall. |
