Public delivers final requests for 100-acre NK park offerings

Now that public input sessions are over, New Kent parks and recreation along with county general services staff are assembling a report on the county’s recreational needs. Those needs, particularly sports playing fields and trails for horseback riding and walkers/joggers, are to be incorporated in a 100-acre site destined to become the county’s centrally located park.

New Kent’s Parks and Recreation Advisory Commission held its fourth and final public input session last Wednesday concerning Criss Cross Park, a 100-acre site off Criss Cross Road, just north of the westbound Interstate 64 rest area, that has been donated to the county by New Kent Vineyard developers.

More than two dozen county residents attended, and most spoke on their preferences for the park. While youth baseball/softball and equine activity proponents dominated the first three comment sessions, those in favor of youth soccer and football venues showed up last week.

Representatives of the New Kent Youth Association, which fields the New Kent Falcon football teams that compete in a Richmond area league, said practice and playing fields along with restroom facilities are sorely needed. One said visiting teams complain that New Kent has the worst facilities in the league. Falcon teams practice and play on the New Kent Middle School field.

“It’s time for Falcon football to have its own fields and facilities,” Rudy Sheets told the commission. “People are going to James City County and Henrico to play football. We need to keep them here.”

Michael Morris, speaking in support of soccer, said multi-use fields could sustain the sport. Close to 150 kids participate in New Kent’s soccer program, and the number will continue to grow as the county’s population rises, he said.

“No sport needs to be forgotten in this,” he told the commission.

Several horse enthusiasts and a large contingent of girls’ softball supporters spoke during last week’s meeting.

Dawn Saunders complained that the county girls’ softball league does not have facilities for hosting tournaments and must travel to other localities. Playing fields available in New Kent are in poor condition, she said.

“Other people laugh at us, and I’m tired of New Kent being left out,” she said. “We want to represent New Kent. We want to see these girls have a chance to make New Kent proud.”

Lori Foster, a player in the league, said all games had to be played away during a recent season. “No one wanted to come to New Kent,” she said.

Horse enthusiasts, meanwhile, reiterated points from earlier sessions that building a ring for shows would boost revenue in the county. They also said riding trails are needed since more and more land once used for riding is being developed.

Lisa Langenhennig spoke in favor of equine activities along with playing fields for baseball, softball, football, and soccer.

“We are definitely at the bottom rung,” she said. “I’d like to see it all, but I realize money is an issue.”

County Administrator John Budesky, who addressed the crowd before the comment session, said that so far the county has received a $100,000 proffer for site development at Criss Cross. Actual building of the park will cost substantially more, he said, estimating the cost at $10 million to more than $20 million based on similar size parks in other localities.

“How to fund it is a challenge to local government,” he said, adding that unless a large amount is borrowed, the park will have to be completed in phases.

“We’ll gather information, develop a plan, and do our best over the next number of years to recommend a funding amount to the Board of Supervisors,” he said.

“We want to make sure we design and recommend something to serve a very diverse and growing community,” he said, adding the park should be able to serve the county for the next 100 years.

County general services director Jim Tacosa will be combining public input into a report that will be handed to commission members during their Feb. 13 meeting. A draft master plan for the park is expected to be in commission members’ hands for their April meeting.

But first, Tacosa said, work is ongoing to determine how much of the 100-acre site is conducive to recreational activities.

“Our best guess is that 65 percent can be used for playing fields,” he said, adding, “A tremendous amount can be used for trails.”

Also on Wednesday night, the concept of funding park construction through a bond referendum resurfaced as some commission members spoke in favor.

In June, the commission approached county supervisors with a request to place an $11.8 million bond referendum on last November’s ballot, but supervisors backed away.

Budesky said last week that no park plan or cost analysis was in place in time to get the measure on the ballot. He hinted, however, that if a draft master plan is developed by next April or May, there might be a chance to resurrect the referendum concept, provided supervisors give approval.

But Budesky warned that the county already has planned for additional debt relating to county schools over the next two years.

“Anything else, and we’ll have to either cut spending or raise taxes,” he told the commission.

“It’s taken us years just to do Quinton Park,” commission member Ray Bassetti said. “I hope this will not take as long.”