Pinellas makes case for new ballfields

EAST LAKE -- Faced with criticism from a local environmental group, Pinellas County officials are making a more public case for creating new ballfields on land managed by Brooker Creek Preserve.

For starters, the new athletic fields would be carved out of a parcel that is not environmentally sensitive. Rather, the land in question is filled with rows of planted pine trees that will be harvested as lumber.

Moreover, the new youth sports fields would meet a need, especially in East Lake, officials said. As Pinellas County's population gets younger, officials are rethinking the uses of some parks.

"Recreational demands are changing," County Administrator Steve Spratt told the St. Petersburg Times editorial board last week. Armed with maps and aerial photos showing the neat rows of pine trees, five high-ranking county officials made an hourlong pitch for the plan.

The East Lake Youth Sports Association has more than 2,000 children participating in baseball, football and soccer leagues and cheerleading at its sports complex on Old Keystone Road.

The league wants to use about 25 acres of the county's tree farm, which is next to the complex, for additional fields and some parking. As proposed, the league would pay Pinellas County a nominal fee for the property. The league also would develop the fields at its own expense.

County officials are waiting to get some additional plans from the league. Once those are in, Spratt's staff will take the proposal to the County Commission for approval.

County officials said the proposal does not signal the first of many encroachments on the preserve. In particular, they tried to draw a distinction between the 25 acres in question and the rest of the preserve. The land in question is managed by the preserve but owned by the Pinellas County utilities department.

Moreover, they said, the use of the land as a tree farm distinguishes it from the majority of the preserve, which is not developed.

"I can't imagine that the commission would ever go in the real preserve," County Commissioner Susan Latvala said.

Opponents remain skeptical.

The nonprofit advocacy group Friends of the Brooker Creek Preserve fears that the proposal would be just the beginning of a "land giveaway" that would threaten the 8,500-acre preserve, said the group's chairman, Ken Rowe.

Some members see their opposition of this proposal as one of the reasons the group was formed.

"It is what we were created for," Rowe said. "We are a group that is committed to supporting the preserve and that includes protecting the preserve."

Contrary to the county's position, the land being considered for ballfields is most definitely part of the preserve, Rowe said. It may be a tree farm planted by the county, but it is home to bobcats, turkeys, birds and other wildlife.

"It's clearly environmentally sensitive land," Rowe said. "It is part of the preserve and part of the trust that was set aside to be protected as wilderness preserve. Giving that to the ballfield people would be a real shame."

One of the dangers with this proposal, Rowe said, is that other groups may be encouraged to ask for preserve land if the sports association succeeds.

"It would be taking a piece of the preserve," Rowe said. "That's all there is to it."

-- Ed Quioco can be reached at (727) 445-4183 or quioco@sptimes.com.

© 2006 • All Rights Reserved • St. Petersburg Times
490 First Avenue South • St. Petersburg, FL 33701 • 727-893-8111

Contact the Times | Privacy Policy
Standard of Accuracy | Terms, Conditions & Copyright