Although we
’re glad to hear that the City of Gilroy and Gavilan Community
College have worked out a plan to address the gopher holes plaguing
the women’s soccer and women’s softball fields at the school, the
fact remains that it’s disgraceful that the fields were allowed to
deteriorate to such a disgra
ceful and dangerous state.
Although we’re glad to hear that the City of Gilroy and Gavilan Community College have worked out a plan to address the gopher holes plaguing the women’s soccer and women’s softball fields at the school, the fact remains that it’s disgraceful that the fields were allowed to deteriorate to such a disgraceful and dangerous state.
The college has an agreement with the City of Gilroy to maintain the fields, but they are not in usable or safe condition. Gopher holes are scattered about the fields, waiting to sprain an ankle – or worse. The gopher holes are hidden in some cases by grass that is longer than intercollegiate regulations specify.
Gavilan Athletic Director Ron Hannon declared the fields unfit for play on Aug. 15 – and Gavilan officials point the finger of blame at the City of Gilroy.
“The things we needed to have happen to have the field ready this year didn’t happen,” Hannon told reporter Lori Stuenkel, noting that the City of Gilroy failed to have the fields in safe, playable condition for six months.
Gilroy officials say the joint-use contract that gives the city maintenance responsibility, in place since 1984, requires that they keep the fields in condition suitable for recreational use, not intercollegiate play. Clearly the gopher infestation makes the fields unusable for either level of play, and the city is addressing the problem with an outside contractor. The fields should be usable again in two weeks.
We’re not interested in the finger pointing and blame laying. We’re interested in relieving yet another black eye for Gavilan’s beleaguered athletic programs. From Title IX problems to multiple questionable coaching personnel decisions, Gavilan doesn’t need to add unsafe fields to the list of athletic embarrassments.
It’s ultimately Gavilan College’s responsibility to make sure its fields are safe and usable. If those fields are needed for intercollegiate play, we don’t see the sense in a maintenance contract that specifies they be maintained to a lower level.
Gavilan College trustees are expected to direct school administrators to ask South Valley and San Benito County voters to approve a $138 million bond. It’s hard to justify asking the community for money for new facilities when the college is not maintaining the facilities it currently has. How is it that the women’s soccer and women’s softball fields were allowed to be neglected for so long that players had to travel as far as four hours round trip to play “home” games? How can problems with facilities be ignored for months, to the point that they are declared unfit for use?
This is the same problem the Gilroy School District faced the first time it tried – and failed – to pass its recent bond measure. Voters weren’t convinced, based on the crumbling schools in the district, that the district should be trusted with millions more dollars.
Voters will ask the same questions of Gavilan College officials. The best response would be for Gavilan officials to be able to point to well-maintained facilities, to an ounce-of-prevention-is-worth-a-pound-of-cure maintenance plan that is cost-effective and well-executed.
If the sorry state into which the Gavilan women’s soccer and softball fields were allowed to deteriorate are any indication, that’s going to be hard to do.
Gavilan needs to show appreciation and respect for the investment the community has already made in the college by taking care of the assets it currently has. Doing so shows respect for taxpayers, but also for the students and coaches the college has recruited to represent the school.
Letting the athletic fields sink to a dangerous and unusable state shows not only poor planning and management, but also a lack of respect for the school’s faculty, students and the community.They all deserve better.
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