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.
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.
Who’s in charge of maintenance and why were the field safety issues so long ignored?
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 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 say the city didn’t fulfill its obligations.
“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 failed to have the fields in safe, playable condition for six months.
Gilroy officials say the joint-use contract, in place since 1984, that gives the city maintenance responsibility 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. Thankfully, the city is addressing the problem with an outside contractor. The fields should be usable again in two weeks.
But this scenario begs these questions: 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?
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 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.
This is the same problem to a certain extent the Gilroy Unified School District faced the first time it tried – and failed – to pass a bond measure.
Voters weren’t convinced, based on the crumbling schools, that GUSD should be trusted with millions more dollars.
After all, what’s the point of providing money to build new facilities when there isn’t a will and a plan to maintain the current facilities?
Voters should – and will – ask the same maintenance plan 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 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 communities have already made in the college by taking care of the assets it currently has. Either that, or officials should prepare for a sound defeat at the ballot box.
