They’re gone.  The tennis courts at McEuen Field are completely gone.  Did you know this?  Neither did I.  But I’ve been busy with family and post-holiday activities so when I heard about the tennis courts from an alert reader, my thought was that there must have been some public announcement and I just missed it.

So I went to the city’s web site and checked everywhere, even under “CITY LAUNCHES BLOG TO ENHANCE COMMUNICATION”.  There was no info about the tennis courts.  Then I thought maybe they announced it at a recent city council meeting.  So I checked the last two months worth of meeting minutes, reading all the way through...no info on the tennis courts or McEuen field.  So much for enhanced communication!  Heck, they publicize when they’re going to do slash burning and cleanup on Tubb’s Hill, so people won’t get worried, but they take out the tennis courts without the same concern?

Another  involved citizen told me he asked City Finance Director, Troy Tymeson, directly, about the tennis court removal.  Troy responded that the city is going to build a PARKING GARAGE on that site.  Troy said it will be a two-story structure and the plans have already been completed.  Now that’s a surprise!

Maybe the Mayor and City Council don’t know about it yet, because the Mayor told Dan Gookin just last November that the city had “no plans” for McEuen Field.  And city councilman Mike Kennedy told Susie Snedaker, a few months ago, when she asked about the old tennis courts, that he “knew nothing”.

So who does know about them, or is willing to admit it, other than Mr. Tymeson?  LCDC, of course.  McEuen Field is directly in the cross hairs of LCDC; it’s their #1 priority for this year.

I drove down to the park today, to get the lay of the land and take some photos.  It occurred to me that Charlie Nipp’s half-block is right across from the existing parking lot next to McEuen.  (You remember...it’s the property that Charlie and his business partner Steve Meyer bought WHILE Charlie was Chairman of LCDC, even though state law specifically prohibits buying any property within an urban renewal project if you are on the board.  The Attorney General’s office even defines “project” as the whole urban renewal district.  Charlie’s not chairman any more, that’s another story, but still he sits on the board.)  So, Charlie and Steve’s big property is right across the street from the current parking lot.  That’s NOT where the parking garage is planned, according to the City Finance Director.  No, the parking garage is planned for the tennis court site, which is right across from Dennis Wheeler’s Coeur office building.  It will infringe on his view, not Charlie and Steve’s.

And do we even need more parking in downtown CdA?  Goodness sakes, the city has paid for several parking studies, which have all shown there is plenty of parking already.   Just a couple months ago, the Mayor told a citizen worried about the possible removal of parking at Independence Point, that there’s no shortage of parking in downtown CdA.  She said it’s only a perceived problem.

So why spend huge money to build a parking structure?  They are very expensive.  And who’s going to pay for it?  Is this the best time to spend big public money, when unemployment is sky high and tax revenues are so low?  And is the city even going to ASK US and include us in the process?

So, dear readers, this newsletter seems to have more questions than answers, which just goes to show the lack of communication from the city on the sensitive topic of McEuen Field.  Let’s all keep a close eye on this situation and insist that we be included in the conversations.  

Have a great weekend!  --Mary