From: david brumfield <davidcbrumfield@gmail.com>
To: egillen476 <egillen476@aol.com>
Sent: Thu, Aug 18, 2011 10:21 pm
Subject: Re: Please and thank you
Sent: Thu, Aug 18, 2011 10:21 pm
Subject: Re: Please and thank you
As long as it is the whole exchange. Then that would be fine.
Dave
______________________
On Aug 18, 2011 9:13 PM, <egillen476@aol.com> wrote:
May I reprint this on the blog? It might clarify the issue for people.
Elaine
-----Original Message-----
From: egillen476 <egillen476@aol.com>
To: davidcbrumfield <davidcbrumfield@gmail.com>
Sent: Thu, Aug 18, 2011 8:21 pm
Subject: Re: Please and thank you
That shouldn't be your problem, Dave. Think about what the Municipality is responsible for. Infrastructure. Following your logic, more people use the roads than fields. Actually, recreation shouldn't even be on your minds in this economy. Just my opinion.
Elaine
_____________________
May I reprint this on the blog? It might clarify the issue for people.
Elaine
-----Original Message-----
From: egillen476 <egillen476@aol.com>
To: davidcbrumfield <davidcbrumfield@gmail.com>
Sent: Thu, Aug 18, 2011 8:21 pm
Subject: Re: Please and thank you
That shouldn't be your problem, Dave. Think about what the Municipality is responsible for. Infrastructure. Following your logic, more people use the roads than fields. Actually, recreation shouldn't even be on your minds in this economy. Just my opinion.
Elaine
_____________________
From: david brumfield <davidcbrumfield@gmail.com>
To: egillen476 <egillen476@aol.com>
Sent: Thu, Aug 18, 2011 8:01 pm
Subject: Re: Please and thank you
But shouldn't we focus on what helps the most residents. Also keep in mind the SD is actually removing a field, at least for 4 years, they are not adding any.
Dave
______________________
But shouldn't we focus on what helps the most residents. Also keep in mind the SD is actually removing a field, at least for 4 years, they are not adding any.
Dave
______________________
On Aug 18, 2011 7:52 PM, <egillen476@aol.com> wrote:
Hi Dave,
People of all ages use the pool. I know people use the pool for rehab too. I understand how the locker rooms are not family friendly. Just a few things off the top of my head. I don't use the pool, so I can't comment on the condition of it.
Elaine
Hi Dave,
People of all ages use the pool. I know people use the pool for rehab too. I understand how the locker rooms are not family friendly. Just a few things off the top of my head. I don't use the pool, so I can't comment on the condition of it.
Elaine
____________
From: david brumfield <davidcbrumfield@gmail.com>
To: egillen476 <egillen476@aol.com>
Sent: Thu, Aug 18, 2011 7:35 pm
Subject: Re: Please and thank you
Elaine,
Why the pool and not the fields. The fields get more hours of us[e] for the same money. Just curious as to what you see the difference is?
Thanks
Dave
_____________
From: david brumfield <davidcbrumfield@gmail.com>
To: egillen476 <egillen476@aol.com>
Sent: Thu, Aug 18, 2011 7:35 pm
Subject: Re: Please and thank you
Elaine,
Why the pool and not the fields. The fields get more hours of us[e] for the same money. Just curious as to what you see the difference is?
Thanks
Dave
_____________
On Aug 18, 2011 7:21 PM, <egillen476@aol.com> wrote:
Hi Commissioners~
Please consider postponing the development of McNeilly Park. While I understand your reasons, I don't think it is wise to take on more debt than needed. I don't think people are opposed to updating the bath house, pool, or buying a fire engine, but in my opinion, the community can't really handle more money being spent on youth sports than what is being done through the School District. Please don't say that it will only be another $200 a year or whatever the number is. We are hearing that it is ONLY $xx a month for too many things now. And saying that it will increase the value of my house means nothing to me. I have no plans to sell my house. ... I gave up lattes long ago.
Hi Commissioners~
Please consider postponing the development of McNeilly Park. While I understand your reasons, I don't think it is wise to take on more debt than needed. I don't think people are opposed to updating the bath house, pool, or buying a fire engine, but in my opinion, the community can't really handle more money being spent on youth sports than what is being done through the School District. Please don't say that it will only be another $200 a year or whatever the number is. We are hearing that it is ONLY $xx a month for too many things now. And saying that it will increase the value of my house means nothing to me. I have no plans to sell my house. ... I gave up lattes long ago.
Thank you for commenting on my blog, Dan and Dave!
Elaine
Elaine
12 comments:
Fields get same use as pool?
Really? Drive by any ballfield in Lebo Monday thru Friday between 9 am to 5 pm and most if not all are empty. Even evenings and weekends. Unless there is an organized sport in progress the ballfields and soccer fields go unused.
Dick Saunders.
Mr. Saunders:
Actually it is not even close to the same use. Fields get a lot more use. To be fair I am including SD fields when I say this because they are the type that we would like to build. Realize that a field like the rockpile is used constantly by Lacrosse and Soccer teams every spring into the summer. Then is late summer through the fall football and soccer do the same 7 days a week usually somewhere between 80-120 kids at a time for practices (multiple teams will split the field into sections. The last two years we have been at about 50,000 visits to the pool per year. Must people have multiple visits of varying lengths. By comparison the 200 plus football players average 3 2hour practices a week for 10 weeks and about 10 games. That would be 8,000 visits for the smallest of the leagues. Lacrosse and its 600 participants is closer to 12 weeks of 3 practices per week is 21,600. And this is before we tally soccer's 1,000 kids and baseball's 1,500. Certainly baseball fields go unused more then most but I can assure you as someone is been a coach, administrator, a dad and a spectator of all of these sports we have a shortage.
Dave Brumfield
The pool is open for 3 months between Memorial Day and Labor Day. On the other hand, our 5 multi-purpose fields and certain baseball fields host games and practices (for all sports) year round with the exception of December and January. Also, if anyone believes that our fields are empty, I would invite you to visit Jefferson or Bird Park any weeknight this week and for the next few months. To further underscore the need, please know that our youth football teams currently practice in the baseball outfields and our youth lacrosse program rents field space in Scott Twp because there is no room for them in the Spring. Of course, the majority of use is after 5pm simply because most of our residents work and attend school. I think that's a good thing.
I would encourage anyone who wants to learn more of the FACTS surrounding our current field situation and this plan to attend Monday's meeting.
Dave Franklin
Just Jefferson and Bird Park? So that leaves how many other fields that are empty?
The special interest groups never seem to be satisfied. What about walking trails and quiet space for us older residents? We are being ignored, but have to fund all of this.
Sarah Morris
Mr. Franklin if you think there is a shortage of fields, by all means go ahead and build all you want on your dime. I happen to think we have plenty. Perhaps not between the hours you'd like... but hey that's life.
A lot of us would like to walk on the MTL golf course at 8 Saturday morning and start playing. Because we can't that doesn't give us the right to expect our fellow residents to build another one for our convenience.
Sorry, Mr. Franklin, sometimes life's tough.
There's a huge Carl Ripkin baseball facility just outside Washington just off I believe I-95, maybe you can convince them to open one here if the demand is so great. Be a great source of property tax revenue instead of a drain.
Dick Saunders
In the end, my goal is to convince the Commissioners that this is a great idea for Mt. Lebanon. I am optimistic that a number of residents will contact or have already contacted the Commissioners in support of this plan. I have heard from seniors as well as young families who support this proposal and that is encouraging. The need is there and the land is there, and many of us are working hard to get it across the finish line.
Dave Franklin
Not so fast Mr. Franklin!
I'm beginning to see your point. My friends and I happen to enjoy horseback riding. I think since the land is available we should have the commisioners build some stables, bridal paths and maybe a polo field or two. Hell, any lowly community can build a soccer field. This is Mt. Lebanon, Mr. Franklin lets work to set our sights a little higher, shall we!
Once our darlings are exposed to the finer points of equistrian sports we'll reap the benefits of the gentrification of the McNeilly Road property.
Remember English Royalty flew into Nemacolin Woodlands for the polo matches not long ago!
It'll make our Ralph Lauren shirts that much more meaningful.
Dick Saunders
Dave Franklin:
By the way, I just heard from the Queen Mum, Charles, Catherine and her sister Pippa and they all think its a bloody good idea. Lets put it to a vote. Isn't that the American way?
Dick Saunders
Global Recession Increasingly a Risk
have it all wrong. They write:
"U.S. home sales fell in July for the third time in four months, the National Association of Realtors said. Sales dropped 3.5 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.67 million homes. That's far below the 6 million homes that economists say must be sold to sustain a healthy housing market.
Sales are lagging behind last year's pace – the weakest since 1997. "There seems to be a correlation between the stock market and home prices," said Andrew Davidson, a New York-based mortgage industry consultant."
For a healthy housing market, just build more ball fields.
Mr Brumfield, I live in your district and I have a question on your comment to Elaine, specifically
"Also keep in mind the SD is actually removing a field, at least for 4 years, they are not adding any."
I understand that the Township sees recreation as an important community function. Why didn't the Township stand up to school board when the high school plans showed the removal of a field? Why didn't the Township block the use of the parking lot which would have caused questions to be asked about the plan BEFORE the outrageous bids came in? (I have to admit, I don't know what your vote was on that - so I'm not blaming you specifically, I'm asking the question in general).
In tough financial times, responsible decisions are more important than ever. Taking on additional debt, especially in this financial climate where interest rates may necessarily skyrocket, along with electricity rates and prices in general is not wise.
Unfortunately, the school district has sucked all the oxygen out of the public funding resource of this community--we simply cannot afford any additional bonding expenses at all because of the reckless, thoughtless, and inept spending of the school district. Remember, we have what is represented to me by school board members as "hundreds of millions of dollars" of exposure to teacher pension fund obligations, which no one in elected responsibility talks about yet, and we will be forced to satisfy through bonding---unless the school district goes bankrupt, or its functional equivalent, which seems from this vantage as quite likely.
The totally negative effect that the mismanagement of our school district has on the rest of our civic life is just one more reason that the entire current school board should resign, immediately, to make room for more thoughtful, more able, and more democratically-inclined leaders.
Also consider, contrary to what Dr. Steinhauer has told our municipal commission, it is still the official, published policy of our school district that the new pool they intend to build as part of the high school renovation project will be open to the public (see, e.g., the glossy pamphlet they mailed to us all last year and the website of the school district as of the day of Dr. Steinhauer's testimony before the municipality on permits when the parking matter was examined.
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