Feb. 23rd Athletic Field Use Meeting

This past week has been a whirlwind both personally and professionally, hence the reason for the delay in this post.

I attended the Feb. 23rd meeting of the Athletic Field Use Ad Hoc Committee. As a first time viewer of this committee I found it very interesting and informative. The committee focused mainly on the alternative options for the Soccer teams for both the upcoming seasons and future seasons. Ahuska Park will be a viable option for the short term, but the City of Monona is looking for a long-term tenant for the park and a youth football group may be that tenant. This does not mean that the school district will not use the park, but they may not be given the same priority status as they currently enjoy.

The Village of Cottage Grove Recreation Dept. gave an update on Fireman’s Park and its availability starting for the 2010-11 school year. Fireman’s Park is looking to have a Championship Field in addition to other soccer practice fields at its facility. This may allow the school district the ability to host WIAA State Tournament games, which we cannot host presently. This would be a real nice perk for the soccer teams if it all comes together. Some of this will depend on the ability to raise funds for some of the amenities a Championship Field would require.

The committee also discussed the green space at Glacial Drumlin and its potential future uses. A lot will depend on how the grass comes in this spring as to its availability this year. In future years it will have to be determined exactly how much space is there and how best to lay out that space. There is a potential to use it for both football and soccer.

Lastly, they discussed the High School Track. The track will be patched this spring. After it is patched a determination will be made to either paint the patches or paint the entire track. Additionally it was stated that the track will need to be replaced real soon. Further discussion was held regarding exactly when that would be, but it was stated that the future date would depend on what damage is discovered when the patch repairs begin. It was also discussed if the repairs would be done at the same time as the football field, but nothing definitive has been decided.