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Parents spruce up Little League park
By BILL COATS
© St. Petersburg Times, LUTZ -- The old blues and grays of the Lutz Little League complex suddenly have been transformed into green and ivory. "We pretty much got disgusted with it and took matters into our own hands," said Jeff Gay, a Little League father who has organized an ambitious, all-volunteer spruce-up of the aging Little League facilities. "We've had close to $30,000 worth of work done at a cost of $500 so far," he said. With significant help from a painting contractor, Gay and a group of parents have replaced old colors with new ones, pressure-washed buildings and other facilities and mapped plans to create a pedestrian entryway into the park by clearing away rusting batting cages. Little League treasurer Teresa Overbeck said the organization, which served 364 children last year, hopes a better image will help boost participation. Recreation officials with Hillsborough County, which owns the park, said the county itself would have performed such fix-ups if asked, but had received few requests in the last year from the Little League. However, they are quick to thank the Lutz parents, and acknowledge the impact of volunteers throughout the county's youth sports programs. "We have to rely on these people, and when I go to their meetings, I bless them," said Ed Radice, the county's recreation director. Radice said the county has long-range hopes of staffing all major parks with full-time employees. Gay, whose 8-year-old stepson Petter Samuelson is a Little Leaguer, said he began recruiting volunteers during the last baseball season. His greatest breakthrough was with Ed Repins, whose 7-year-old son Andris had played on a team Gay coached. Repins is a civic-minded co-owner of Merit Professional Coatings, a local commercial and light-industrial painting contractor. Repins decided his company would pressure-wash the buildings, then prime and paint them -- for free. Several thousand dollars are coming out of Repins' share of the company profits. "I give to a lot of charities," he said. "This is one that I can feel and see directly, being that my son plays." - Bill Coats can be reached at (813) 226-3469 or coats@sptimes.com.
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