Parks & Recreation Director Stump Martin, left, looks down the fence line at the high school baseball stadium, Friday afternoon, as city workers survey the city’s latest acquisition for recreation.
The Hamilton County School Board, in its regularly scheduled meeting, voted unanimously Thursday night to deed over athletic facilities at East Ridge High School to the City of East Ridge.
The deal, long in the making, will divest Hamilton County Schools of any responsibility in maintaining football, baseball and the softball fields as well as the tennis courts at East Ridge High School and East Ridge Middle School.
On Friday afternoon, Stump Martin, the city’s Director of Parks and Recreation, brought a small crew up to check out several of the fields on what he is now calling “Pioneers Park.” Lee Coffman, a retired teacher and baseball coach at the school, familiarized city workers with aspects of the baseball field.
Coffman told Andy Jacks, head of the grounds crew at Camp Jordan, about an irrigation system that had been installed in the infield of the baseball diamond quite some time ago. The sprinkler system has not been utilized for several years.
Jacks, who has a certification in turf management from the University of Georgia, said that he had recently over-seeded the field with several hundred pounds of rye grass.
Martin and the crew measured a disused batting cage on one side of the field for new netting. Bill Owens and Charlie Ritchie were busy measuring the length of a dugout to install a new tin roof.
Baseball begins at the school in two weeks. Martin said the field would be ready for play by then. He said he intends to bring in some dirt to bring the area that transitions from the grass infield up to grade.
Martin also inventoried a storage shed where the school was storing some equipment and supplies related to the maintenance of the fields.
In last week’s East Ridge City Council meeting, council members adopted an agreement which elaborated the responsibilities of both the City of East Ridge and the school system. The City will make certain capital improvements to the dilapidated tennis courts and the fields which would benefit the students at the schools and the residents of the city.
Provisions within the agreement will allow residents of the city to use the track, the infield of the track and other sports fields – excluding Shanks Field on Raymond James Stadium – when it is not being used by athletic teams of the schools or when school is not in session.
In the future, Martin said that residents are more than welcome to come up to Pioneers Park and enjoy themselves, as long as they respect the fields. He said that the baseball diamond could be utilized for pickup games or batting practice as long as people use some common sense.
Martin said that people will be offered recreational opportunities in the middle of the city. Residents can then walk less than a mile down Tombras Avenue from the city’s newest facility, Pioneers Park, to the beloved Pioneer Frontier, built by volunteer labor a generation ago.
With East Ridge actually owning the property, it is now possible for the city to pursue grants to make improvements to the fields and facilities.
In its last City Council meeting, East Ridge approved budgeting of $40,000 in capital improvements to the facilities and a plan to hire a full-time employee from Parks and Recreation devoted to the athletic fields.
The Hamilton County Commission must now officially approve the actions of the school board in deeding over the land, said David Testerman, who represents East Ridge on the school board. Testerman said Interim Superintendent Dr. Kirk Kelly will do this as a courtesy and fully expects the commission to bless the action.
Retired teacher and coach Lee Coffman, left, shows Andy Jacks, center, the shutoff valve to an irrigation system at the baseball diamond at East Ridge High School, Friday afternoon.
