St. Marys amphitheater, sports fields proposed

ST. MARYS - City council members said they would consider requests for a new amphitheater and football and soccer fields at the old Skip Baughman Stadium, but they have planned to use at least some of the land for housing.

St. Marys Chamber of Commerce Director Abby Balster along with several representatives of youth sports leagues and events such as Waynestock presented a mock-up of a "secondary" plan for the land.

Balster said the stadium parcel had garnered the attention of the St. Marys SummerFest Committee as a potential future site for the annual event. The current space has limited the event as it has grown, Balster noted. Organizers at times have wanted to add events but didn't have the space.

Balster's proposal called for putting an amphitheater on the west side near Front Street and facing toward the river, which she said would help prevent sound from traveling into town and disturbing residents. The plan also includes space for two sports fields. Space could be available for a youth football storage facility, concession stand and restrooms.

Balster's proposal was made after consulting with organizers of others groups, such Waynestock and local youth football and soccer leagues, several of whom were also at Monday's meeting.

Auglaize County Sheriff Al Solomon, a former youth football coach, supported the plan, saying he believed it laid out positive entertainment options for both youth and adults.

Youth sports supporters cited the need for space given the large number of children participating in youth football and soccer, and the lack of fields and parking in the city.

Adam Wycuff, Roughrider Touchdown Club president, said he has coached youth football for about 20 years. While the city's parks and recreation department has done a great job helping to organize kids and move things around, he said they've encountered major space problems in the last two years.

The project sounds like a big undertaking, but he believed the community would get behind it, he added.

Keith Jacobs, founder and organizer of Waynestock, said the Christian music festival could see as many as 3,000-4,000 people, and some believe with the right venue, the event could attract even more.

Council president James Harris said he had discussed a similar proposal consolidating youth football and soccer fields years ago to improve safety, but nothing had come to fruition.

Harris said city officials would take the proposal under advisement but also said the city had other needs to consider first.

"We probably paid a little too much for it to help the school out," Harris said of the stadium. "We need to get our money back as much as we can. So this is where we're going to be running into a little bit of a conflict because we're not like Congress. We've got to balance our books."

He also said after a certain point in the summer, many city parks aren't used, and parks cost money to maintain. Where the proposal laid out space for one field, council had planned to allow development of future houses and condominiums, Harris added.

"Let's face it, folks. One of the differences to us expanding in this community is the lack of housing," he continued.

Council member Todd Fleagle said he appreciated the layout the group had proposed but hesitates to put something other than housing into the prime location on the parcel.

City auditor Doug Riesen said he never would've approved the purchase of the stadium if the city couldn't sell the lot.

Solomon said he had sat down several times over the years with city officials to request something similar, and each time the project faltered. With several different factions within the community coming together to work toward this goal, Solomon asked for an open forum to work out issues and allow interested citizens to meet and discuss the options.

In other business, public safety service director Greg Foxhoven said the city will update its website with new pictures and milestone information on major projects such as the water treatment plant and mill restoration project. Work on the mill restoration likely won't start for another week and a half to two weeks.

Council members also,

• performed first reading of an emergency ordinance authorizing an Efficiency Smart schedule program with American Municipal Power.

• scheduled a finance committee meeting for 5:15 p.m. Nov 18.

• rescheduled the Dec. 23 council meeting to Dec. 30.