Albemarle calls timeout on vote to light fields

By Rachana Dixit

Published: October 8, 2008

Too many Albemarle County officials and residents remain in the dark about a proposal to light softball fields at Darden Towe Park to move ahead with the idea, the Board of Supervisors decided Wednesday.

Before the board makes a decision as to whether it would be open to lighting the park’s three fields, several supervisors said they need to determine the future of McIntire Park’s two fields — something they thought was set in stone — and explore alternative locations within the park for an upcoming YMCA.

“This whole conversation has been driven by what’s going on at McIntire Park,” said Kenneth C. Boyd, chairman of the board.

As part of the plan to accommodate the construction of the 70,000-square-foot YMCA, Charlottesville officials are seeking to eliminate two softball fields to allow for additional parking and a rectangular field. As a result, new lighting is being proposed for Charlottesville High School’s one and Darden Towe’s three softball fields.

Area officials have said lighting Darden Towe’s fields would more than compensate for McIntire’s fields.

Among the fields at Piedmont Virginia Community College, Darden Towe and McIntire, 22 games are regularly played per night. With the new setup, in which the lights would go dark at 10 p.m., 22 to 24 games could be played.

Mike Svetz, director of Charlotte-sville’s Department of Parks and Recreation, said placing the YMCA at the McIntire location was the best choice because of parking concerns and for diverting stormwater from the Meadow Creek. But there still may be enough space to keep the two softball fields, he said.

Girls’ softball fields, residents pointed out, could be a feasible solution because they require 100 yards less space than adult fields.

“As they move into the design of their building, we are open to revisiting the master plan,” Svetz said, referring to the city’s plan for McIntire Park.

The board’s decision was partly a result of a comment made by Kurt Krueger, president of the YMCA, who said it has been a common misconception that the new athletics and aquatics facility is the cause of the two fields’ elimination.

“The statements out there that the YMCA is causing the softball fields to be moved is just wrong,” he said.

Darden Towe, which is jointly owned by the city and county, was conceived in the 1980s after the localities acquired the land.

Charlottesville’s City Council and Albemarle’s Board of Supervisors approved the current agreement for the park on May 7, 2007, which states that no athletics field or recreational facility lighting would occur without the consent of both localities.

Lighting Darden Towe has been a controversial proposal because of concerns over light pollution and traffic — plus it would cost between $500,000 and $750,000, with the bill split 70 percent to 30 percent between the county and city.

Supervisor Dennis S. Rooker said the board and city need to further discuss the fate of Darden Towe’s fields and the plans for McIntire Park.

“Before we precipitously decide to light those fields, we should have a conversation with them,” Rooker said.

Softball is one of the area’s most popular sports, with roughly 160 adult softball teams and 2,400 players. A city report showed that 20 percent of the players are city residents, 46 percent are county residents and 34 percent come from independent teams, such as businesses.

Many softball players implored the board to eventually allow lighting at the regional park because of the sport’s growing popularity.

“There’s nowhere to play and there’s a very real possibility of McIntire going away,” Chad Day said.

Charles Hubbard, who has been playing and coaching adult softball for 30 years, said lighting Darden Towe’s three fields is only the first step in providing more locations for players.

“I still think the overall capacity for our community to hold softball games should increase,” Hubbard said.

Softball player Scott Hendricks agreed.

“Lighting Darden Towe should be the first piece in alleviating this problem,” he said.

The City Council will take up the Darden Towe lighting issue in November.