Field-focused group to sport answers

Deepa Bharath

City officials are creating a committee that many hope will find

answers to the city’s controversial field-condition problems.

City and school district officials are trying to sharpen the focus

of this committee, which is in its embryonic stage, and clearly

define its objectives, Assistant City Manager Steve Hayman said.

The city’s joint-use agreement with the Newport-Mesa Unified

School District governing the use and maintenance of athletic fields

has drawn ample discussion. The city of Costa Mesa maintains and

monitors school district fields, according to that agreement.

The focus of the committee is not going to be the agreement but

the deteriorated condition of the fields, Hayman said.

“What the committee talks about may lead to modifications in the

joint-use agreement,” he said. “But the main goal is to come up with

short- and long-term solutions to improve field conditions.”

A timeline has not yet been established for the committee’s

formation, but “it will [be] within weeks rather than months,” Hayman

said.

Parks and Recreation commissioners also discussed the committee

during their meeting on Thursday. Commissioner Wendy Leece said she

would like to see wider representation from parents, coaches and user

groups on the committee.

“This is very much a community issue,” she said. “And the affected

parties need to have a say in the matter. This issue affects so many

special-interest groups.”

Mark Gleason, president of Estancia High School girls’ soccer

boosters, who accused the school district of maintaining Newport

Beach’s fields better than Costa Mesa’s, said he agrees with Leece.

In a complaint filed with the U.S. Department of Education Office

of Civil Rights on Sept. 13, Gleason said the Newport-Mesa Unified

School District is discriminating against Costa Mesa schools with

predominantly Latino populations and working to satisfy Newport Beach

schools, which are predominantly white.

But since his complaint, school district officials have started

fixing some of the fields’ broken fences and bleachers, Gleason said.

“I’m seeing a lot of action on the part of the city and school

district, and that’s good,” he said. “The committee is a good sign,

too.”

But he would favor a committee with representatives from all user

groups and with meetings open to the public, Gleason said.

“I’d like to be on that committee myself,” he said. “I’d

definitely prefer that they have someone from the boosters and

athletic directors from the schools.”

But he understands how a committee with too many people on it can

get out of hand, Gleason said.

“I’d be satisfied if they open up the meetings to the public and

listen to what we have to say,” he said.

All committee meetings will be open to the public, Hayman said.

“We can’t have a committee that is too big and unwieldy,” he said.

“But what we want for sure is public input. That’s critical.”

* DEEPA BHARATH is the enterprise and general assignment reporter.

She may be reached at (949) 574-4226 or by e-mail at

deepa.bharath@latimes.com.