Posted on

Charles City sports facilities a shared responsibility

By Bob Woolm, Charles City

Your Tuesday editorial brought up some interesting ideas about our parks and how they are used by the school system. In communities of our size, it is difficult to draw the line between the schools and the community, and often not necessary. On summer nights prior to flooding problems, I’ve watched Comet baseball and softball at the same time, my attention being given to whichever game had the most action. These sporting events are a great source of community involvement and entertainment, whether or not one has school-age kids. As it relates to who is the financially responsible party for purchase and upkeep, as a taxpayer it probably does not matter to me. We elect community members to represent us for both, and the taxpayer pays either way. I know it matters a great deal to each entity as they have separate budgets and many items they must fund. It seems the city could be responsible for some baseline funding — parks being valuable community resources — and the schools being responsible for an incremental amount that are more activity specific.

I’d be curious how similar Iowa communities approach this. Perhaps city and school resource personnel could compare Charles City to a reasonable sampling of other communities. We need facilities that showcase our community and complement the recent investments in our schools, and include the ball fields and courts our community and student-athletes deserve.

Statement on initial contract proposal from state of Iowa

F

Social Share

LATEST NEWS