Baseball field sought in Washingtonville park

WASHINGTONVILLE- A local baseball coach attended Monday night's regular Village Council meeting to request a baseball field be installed at the village's proposed park.

Mark Suggett of the Leetonia and Washingtonville Baseball League asked council to consider construction of a pony league field for area teenagers.

According to the coach, although the area has some baseball fields, there are none for those in pony league, with teams having to travel to surrounding communities to play.

The field would be 300 feet to center and include dugouts, bleachers and parking, he said.

"We would have to do it right; put up an attractive, quality field," he said.

Suggett further stated that the league would cover insurance for the field and host several fund raisers to help pay for it, too. It also has volunteers lined up to help with installation, as well, he noted.

Council President Will Jones said he liked the idea of the field, but that council could not commit to anything right now, noting that the top priority is getting the playground for the village's children.

In other news, council declined to offer support to the Little Beaver Creek Foundation in its application for a grant through the Ohio Department of Natural Resources to create a watershed-based planning commission in the Ohio Balanced Growth Program that helps communities balance conservation of nature while promoting development.

Council instead requested a representative return to the next meeting to provide specific details about the plan the grant will fund before any support will be offered.

Councilwoman Renee Jackson specifically questioned what will happen if the organization receives the grant and develops the plan, but Washingtonville and other municipalities do not

want to participate. She stated that the project seems far too indefinite to support at this time and suggested that the grant money will be wasted if municipalities cannot afford to enact the plan.

Also at the meeting, Jackson reminded residents that anyone seeking appointment to the two available seats on council must attend the Jan. 4 meeting; and Jones announced that he will be randomly delivering seven to 10 turkeys to village residents today as a member of the 910th LRS Vehicle Maintenance Group at the Air Force Reserve base at the Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport in Vienna.

A public forum will be held from 4 to 7 p.m. Thursday at the Washingtonville VFW to discuss alterations to the state Route 14 and East Street intersection proposed by the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT).

The next council meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. Dec. 7 at Village Hall.

Kevin Howell can be reached at khowell@salemnews.net