Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

YMCA to take over Imperial Beach sports park?

If so, residents expect day-use fees

In the bowl at the sports park (photo from ImperialBeachCA.gov)
In the bowl at the sports park (photo from ImperialBeachCA.gov)

Outcry over the planned privatization of the only public sports park in Imperial Beach has caused the city council to postpone its decision on the matter.

During a packed city-council meeting on June 5, everyone from former congressman Brian Bilbray to local skateboarders spoke up about the city's plan to turn over management of the Sports Park Recreation Center & Park — which includes baseball fields, a skate park, and a recreation center — to the YMCA.

The plan has met with protests and a growing coalition to stop the takeover. The YMCA would require memberships or day-use fees for children to use the park, which has drawn the ire of Imperial Beach residents. (Currently an annual fee of $25 exists for residents between the ages of 7 and 17; $50 for nonresidents.)

Sponsored
Sponsored

The council, after listening to speakers unanimously against the privatization, voted to delay the vote for three weeks to allow for consultations between the public and councilmembers.

One speaker, who identified himself as skateboarder Greg Hughes, revealed his anger at the proposal. "I do live here and I will see you on the streets and I will be as civil as possible, but you're going to hear it from me."

Local skateboarding legend Tony Hawk, whose foundation paid for the building of the skate park, is on record as saying, “We hope that they keep the skate park in the hands of the community and the kids."

In a written statement, Imperial Beach Little League president Don Spicer said the Little League and the city have cooperated well up to now, but "if the city allows the YMCA to come in and take over, it will only be a matter of time before that is all taken away."

At the meeting last week, Spicer added, "We have all stepped up to the plate…. We can only ask that you make the right decision."

Bilbray offered the councilmembers advice: "Both sides have moved towards each other, and in Imperial Beach that is a rare, rare thing," he said. "Maybe this is a time to reverse the mistakes."

Councilmember Edward Spriggs said, "I think it was good-faith effort...but I don't think it's succeeding." He added, "I think we have to look at what the community is talking about."

Councilmember Lorie Bragg said she had changed her mind on the vote due to the public outcry at the meeting. "This has been a painful process for us as a community...it's deteriorated into an us-against-them mentality. That's not how it should be. We're all in this together. This is our community. We all have children, families, kids, friends."

The council meeting to decide the issue is scheduled for June 26.

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Big swordfish, big marlin, and big money

Trout opener at Santee Lakes
In the bowl at the sports park (photo from ImperialBeachCA.gov)
In the bowl at the sports park (photo from ImperialBeachCA.gov)

Outcry over the planned privatization of the only public sports park in Imperial Beach has caused the city council to postpone its decision on the matter.

During a packed city-council meeting on June 5, everyone from former congressman Brian Bilbray to local skateboarders spoke up about the city's plan to turn over management of the Sports Park Recreation Center & Park — which includes baseball fields, a skate park, and a recreation center — to the YMCA.

The plan has met with protests and a growing coalition to stop the takeover. The YMCA would require memberships or day-use fees for children to use the park, which has drawn the ire of Imperial Beach residents. (Currently an annual fee of $25 exists for residents between the ages of 7 and 17; $50 for nonresidents.)

Sponsored
Sponsored

The council, after listening to speakers unanimously against the privatization, voted to delay the vote for three weeks to allow for consultations between the public and councilmembers.

One speaker, who identified himself as skateboarder Greg Hughes, revealed his anger at the proposal. "I do live here and I will see you on the streets and I will be as civil as possible, but you're going to hear it from me."

Local skateboarding legend Tony Hawk, whose foundation paid for the building of the skate park, is on record as saying, “We hope that they keep the skate park in the hands of the community and the kids."

In a written statement, Imperial Beach Little League president Don Spicer said the Little League and the city have cooperated well up to now, but "if the city allows the YMCA to come in and take over, it will only be a matter of time before that is all taken away."

At the meeting last week, Spicer added, "We have all stepped up to the plate…. We can only ask that you make the right decision."

Bilbray offered the councilmembers advice: "Both sides have moved towards each other, and in Imperial Beach that is a rare, rare thing," he said. "Maybe this is a time to reverse the mistakes."

Councilmember Edward Spriggs said, "I think it was good-faith effort...but I don't think it's succeeding." He added, "I think we have to look at what the community is talking about."

Councilmember Lorie Bragg said she had changed her mind on the vote due to the public outcry at the meeting. "This has been a painful process for us as a community...it's deteriorated into an us-against-them mentality. That's not how it should be. We're all in this together. This is our community. We all have children, families, kids, friends."

The council meeting to decide the issue is scheduled for June 26.

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Halloween opera style

Faust is the quintessential example
Next Article

Jazz guitarist Alex Ciavarelli pays tribute to pianist Oscar Peterson

“I had to extract the elements that spoke to me and realize them on my instrument”
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader