City, schools reach accord on fields

City will pay at least $170,000 a year for use of school athletic fields; district agrees to do maintenance.The Newport-Mesa Unified School District will take over maintenance of its athletic fields in Costa Mesa, and the city will pay the schools for use of them, according to a revised joint-use agreement that the school board approved unanimously on Tuesday.

In January, the Costa Mesa City Council approved changes to a 2002 agreement between the city and district, which both parties created to compensate for a shortage of playing fields. With the school board’s approval Tuesday, the revised agreement is in place for the next five years.

“I think it’s a great step and an essential step,” said Byron de Arakal, chairman of Costa Mesa’s Parks and Recreation Commission. “I’ve said many times before that without a partnership between the city and school district, our field capacity issues would be catastrophic.”

Under the revised version, the school district will be in charge of mowing and trimming the fields, formerly tasks undertaken by the city. Also, district athletic coaches may withhold fields from city use while their teams are in the California Interscholastic Federation, or CIF, playoffs.

According to the joint-use agreement, 20 school sites in Costa Mesa contain fields used by Little League and other youth teams. In exchange for use of the fields, the city will pay the district $170,000 or the total income from field rentals for each year, whichever is greater.

School board President David Brooks said that clearly outlining the duties of the city and district could improve the condition of the fields.

“I think that the maintenance of the fields will increase greatly because the maintenance is all under one program, rather than being split under two that weren’t coordinated as best they could be,” he said. “The school district realizes, as well as the city, the importance of recreation and sports and the tremendous role they play in the development of our youth.”

Costa Mesa High School Principal John Garcia called the revised agreement “a great partnership” and praised the city for coming to terms with the district over the field use.

“Have there been challenges? Absolutely,” he said. “Have we learned from those challenges and worked with the city? Absolutely. But I will tell you, the city and the folks from the recreation department have been great partners to work with.”

Still unresolved is the issue of adult teams playing on the school fields. Last year, the City Council voted to keep adult teams off of most elementary school yards, citing neighbors’ concerns about noise and trash. Among district sites in Costa Mesa, only Costa Mesa High, Estancia High and Davis Elementary are open to adult teams under the joint-use agreement.

Richard Brunette, Costa Mesa’s recreation supervisor, said the city hoped to open more fields to adult players but would need available land first.

“If we’re able to get some more fields built and some additional fields lit in Costa Mesa, that relieves some of the pressure on those fields we have,” he said. “But if you look at the broader spectrum, going back 10 years, basically the number of fields available to adults has been expanded.”

Sal Burciaga, the vice president of an adult soccer league in Costa Mesa, said he hoped the city would find playing space soon.

“Kids graduate from high school and we want to keep them here in Costa Mesa,” he said. “We don’t want them going into Santa Ana and different cities. We want a spot where they can play.”

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