Field designs up for review

Tentative plans to renovate and add sports fields to four Costa Mesa schools were unveiled recently, but it all might take some time as the city experiences budgetary woes.

The plans, drawn up by a design consultant, were put forward for the scrutiny of a group of youth sports leaders, school district representatives, City Council members and residents with houses near the fields Wednesday night.

The dialogue has been overwhelmingly productive and the committee members have come up with some interesting, outside-of-the-box ideas, City Manager Allan Roeder said.

“I think we’re making really good progress. I particularly like the interchange between the sports groups, youth groups and residents of the community. It’s not about AYSO against Little League; they really are able to step back and look at the site as a whole and also take the school’s needs into consideration,” Roeder said.

So far, the plan is to shuffle fields around so that space is used more efficiently, resurface the fields (some with artificial turf) and add other amenities like playgrounds and concession stands.

Altogether, two new fields, three new tennis courts, playgrounds and concession stands will be added without the acquisition of any new land, which city officials say will save a lot of money.

The two areas that would see the renovations are the TeWinkle Middle School/California Elementary School complex in Mesa Verde and the Costa Mesa High School/Davis Elementary School complex.

“It’s one of the largest efforts we’ve put together and the first one where we’ve worked in partnership with the school district,” City Engineer Bart Mejia said.

At TeWinkle, for instance, the soccer field closest to Iowa Street on Gisler Street would be covered in artificial turf and used for baseball and soccer.

The school would also be outfitted with an Olympic-sized rubberized track surrounding a full-size soccer field.

At Costa Mesa High School, the baseball fields would be separated from the soccer fields and a cluster of nine tennis courts on the edge of fields would replace the existing tennis courts.

“The overall majority of us agreed that the best concepts separated the baseball fields from the soccer fields, and that was pretty consistent,” said Parks and Recreation Commissioner Kurt Galitski.

A slew of other changes are also proposed.

The plans will be put forth for the public to see in January at two sessions — one at each complex — that aren’t planned yet, and the public will be able to give input before the final plans are drafted and submitted to the City Council.

The council will have the final authority over whether room can be made in the budget for the renovations, which officials estimate will cost millions of dollars.

Money is tight in the city budget. More than $8 million in expenditures had to be chopped off just a few weeks ago as sales tax revenue projections decline.

One of the good parts of the planning process for the fields, though, is that it can be accomplished piece-by-piece as money becomes available, according to Public Services Director Peter Naghavi.

“We don’t really know which items we will do,” Naghavi said.

Councilwoman Katrina Foley, who is one of two City Council members on the task force, says that it’s too early to decide whether the council will be able to slide any or all of the project into next year’s budget.

But even if funding can’t be drawn from the city’s operating budget, she thinks that other revenue can be tapped like the $1 million given to the Costa Mesa United foundation for the renovation of the pool and stadium at Costa Mesa High School.

“Whether it’s paid for through the general fund or otherwise, I’m 100% committed to moving it forward as fast as possible. We’ll find the money somewhere,” Foley said.

ALAN BLANK may be reached at (714) 966-4623 or at alan.blank@latimes.com.