Simi sports leagues weigh in on proposals for Sinaloa Park

Local sports organizations are joining the fray over the park district’s controversial proposal to revamp and expand Sinaloa Golf Course to include three 18-hole miniature golf courses, and some are saying the money would be better used to improve Simi’s existing athletic fields.

Brian Moran, president of Chivas USA Futbol Academy in Simi Valley, said the city is in desperate need of more practice soccer fields as well as a new swimming pool. Maintaining the athletic fields, he said, should take priority over miniature golf.

“There’s a shortage of athletic fields and athletic field lighting in Simi Valley,” the 23-year resident said. “There are needs, but nobody needs a putt-putt golf course. The board just wants one.”

Moran and more than 30 other residents attended last week’s meeting of the Rancho Simi Recreation and Park District board of directors to voice their opinions on the golf course project.

Of the 13 residents who spoke, most of them were in favor of the project for the money it would generate and the enjoyment it would provide for people of all ages, especially those children not involved in organized sports.

Tom Costello spoke in support of the project on behalf of Simi Youth Baseball—whose fields are next to the project site on Madera Road—saying that he trusts the board has done its due diligence regarding the project.

“Our park district needs to generate money, and I’m fully aware of that,” he said. “Simi Youth Baseball would be enhanced and beautified. . . . We are in full support of your project.”

Lynne Sauve, vice president and marketing director for Eclipse Simi Valley Soccer Club, said her organization is also in favor of the project.

“My children are involved in sports, but sports should not be their entire lives,” she said. “They should have other things to do, and right now in Simi it’s just bowling and movies.”

With a total cost estimated at $18.8 million, the project would be built in three stages. The first phase would be paid for with cash through the district’s Golf Enterprise Fund, which taps profits from the Simi Hills and Sinaloa golf courses.

Moran said he was upset that the board has in the past said it doesn’t have the funds to make improvements to existing athletic fields, some of which are riddled with gopher holes, and yet it is willing to spend millions on this project.

“We, the residents, don’t care if the money you are planning to waste comes from the left drawer or the right drawer. It’s irresponsible spending that makes little or no sense,” he said. “Your decisions are hurting the community.”

Rick Bowman, president of Simi Academy of Soccer (SAS) Kickers, said he originally had mixed feelings about the project and also had a case of sticker shock, but his concerns have since been allayed.

“Although we don’t always get what we would personally like for our favorite sport, I do support the project because I’m tired of taking my grandkids to Ventura to play miniature golf,” Bowman said.

Representatives from the Simi region of AYSO and the Adult Soccer League of Simi Valley also said they support the project.

Elaine Freeman, vice chair of the park district board, assured residents at the meeting that the district is dedicated to maintaining its athletic fields and swimming pools and that the Sinaloa Park project would enable the district to have the financial means to expand facilities.

In addition, the revenue generated by the project would help the district make up for funds the state has taken over the years. The state began dipping into the district’s primary revenue source—property taxes—in 1992.

“The state of California took $21 million from this district; they’re going to take another $700,070 from us this year,” she said. “If we don’t take care of ourselves, no one’s going to take care of us.”

The project is expected to generate $711,000 after the first phase of construction is completed.

Sinaloa Park is listed as one of the district’s 12 “priority projects” for fiscal year 200910. The district plans to secure a conditionaluse permit for the project and initiate construction plans for the first phase of development. The budget allocates $500,000 to that end.

To view all the projects included in the park district’s preliminary budget for fiscal year 2009-10, visit www.rsrpd.org.

For more information on the project or to view the business plan, visit www.sinaloapark.com or www.sinaloapark.info.