South City officials partner on ball field

Following years of deliberation over best ways to allocate the money, city and school officials both shared their appreciation over the opportunity to collaborate and finally put the payment to good use.

“It’s great. If we could have done it on our own, we would have already. So getting a little assistance from an outside agency like the city is a great model going forward for how to get some of our district issues resolved,” said school board President John Baker.

The South San Francisco Unified School District Board of Trustees approved constructing the new baseball and soccer fields last month, laying the groundwork for the financial approval from city officials.

Under the schematic designs approved by the school board, a new, natural grass baseball field will be constructed and the outfield will be large enough to accommodate a soccer field.

Mayor Karyl Matsumoto also expressed her appreciation for a chance to convert a byproduct of the ongoing residential growth experienced in South San Francisco into a community asset.

“We have to allow the good with the bad and this is one of the feel-good projects that will help the community,” said Matsumoto, nodding to the exhaustion many residents feel with the onslaught of growth throughout South San Francisco over recent years.

The $1 million payment was provided by builder Sares Regis as part of the 2016 approval to construct about 200 units in the Cadence development downtown at the corner of Miller and Cypress avenues.

Since the payment was provided, city and school officials have hosted a series of discussions over ways the money could be spent to serve the best interests of both agencies, and the community at large.

Ultimately, officials landed on paying toward reconstruction of the fields at the campus where an earlier classroom construction project launched by the school district was poorly executed.

The campus field was long home to a large dirt mount widely recognized as Mount Buri by neighborhood residents who grew frustrated with the grime swept off the pile by wind and spread throughout the area. The issue became so aggravating for nearby residents that the district issued car wash certificates to those affected.

In an effort to smooth over the hard feelings with residents, Baker said school officials recently held a community meeting during which support for rebuilding new fields at the site was expressed. He noted the campus used to host a baseball field, until that space was consumed by classrooms.

Baker also said the field construction would not only yield an asset which could be used by students as well as other members of the community, but construction would likely go more smoothly than some of the classroom building which also roiled neighbors.

“Unlike school construction, where there is a lot of jackhammering and construction through the day, this should be a lot more tolerable and a lot more shorter,” he said.

Though the construction schedule is contingent on approval from the state, Baker said officials are hopeful to break ground on the new field later this year with an eye on it being available for the start of baseball season next year. The project is expected to cost $1.3 million, requiring the school district to fill out the rest of the budget.

For his part, Baker said he is proud the two agencies can come together to offer a community asset deeply appreciated by so many residents.

“This is replacing a field that has long been missing in the community and I think the city and school district are very happy to have it back for the residents of the neighborhood,” he said.

The South San Francisco City Council meets 7 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 23, in the Municipal Services Building, 33 Arroyo Drive.

austin@smdailyjournal.com

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