- $4.7 Million project for improvements at Sports Complex
- International Westside Pony League not included to get improvements from the 2022 Bond
Tuesday night, KRIS 6 News reporter Naidy Escobar went out to a community meeting at the Greenwood Westside Sports Complex. The City's Parks and Recreation Department requested public input on its $4.7 Million improvement plan for the park.
At that meeting, KRIS 6 News learned the International Westside Pony League was not in those improvement plans.
Ruben Riojas has been a part of the International Westside Pony League for over three decades. He feels his league has been forgotten.
"I feel like nobody cares about the kids that play on my league,” Riojas said.
Voters approved funding for those improvements in the Bond 2022 project. Those improvements were voted for the Westside Pony, Universal League, and the Sparkling City fields.
When those improvements were approved, Riojas' league was under a different name. However, now the allocated money will be going elsewhere, to other fields.
"We have 39 teams that I have to squeeze in, 39 games in a week and only two fields. Our building is falling and they have no plans for us," Riojas added.
KRIS 6 News spoke with District 3 Councilman Roland Barrera, who acknowledged the issues at hand.
"Now we recognize Mr. Riojas has been there probably 30 years and you know it’s just kind of frustrating for me and I’m sure for him that he’s been the father of that program for a long time," Barrera said.
Barrera acknowledged there was poor communication on their part in keeping the community informed on these improvement decisions. Going forward, he wants the city to focus more on getting that community feedback.
"We just need to do a better job of communicating to public when we’re gonna spend these types of funds," Barrera said. "That way we make sure that they know what’s going on and I think that’s that’s where the disconnect was."
Barrera said the city is currently working on another bond package that would include an extra $2 million for improvements to the International Westside Pony League.
He also added that he has spoken to the city manager about how they should move forward when it comes to future projects.
"Whenever we have these projects that are on a bond we should incorporate qualifying the architects prior to the bond election," said Barrera.
As for Riojas, Barrera told KRIS 6 News they want to do what they can to help address the issues at hand.
The city hopes to have that second bond on the November package. If approved, work could begin within months.
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