Schools
Lakewood City School District: Board, City OK Fields/Pools Agreement
The Board and the City have shared responsibility for the recreational facilities for decades without a formal agreement in place.
September 21, 2021
The Lakewood Board of Education at its Sept. 22 meeting approved a Memorandum of Understanding between the Board and the City of Lakewood that outlines the responsibilities of the two entities in relation to the maintenance and capital improvements of the City-owned fields and pools. The Board and the City have shared responsibility for the recreational facilities for decades without a formal agreement in place. Lakewood City Council approved the agreement at its Sept. 22 meeting as well.
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The agreement defines each party’s role in ongoing maintenance and capital expenses, as well as establishing a formal annual schedule for regular meetings between the City’s Public Works Department and the Recreation Department to ensure that communication between the two regarding field and pool conditions remain current.
“We are pleased that our administrative team and the Board of Education were able to work together with Mayor George and city officials to resolve these longstanding issues,” said Superintendent Maggie Niedzwiecki. “We look forward to being able to provide the community more quality programming through our Rec and Athletic Departments now and in the future. Our Community Recreations and Education Commission will be engaging with the community to gather feedback on programming wants and needs.”
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As part of the agreement, the city has agreed to fully fund infield upgrades at Jimmie Foxx Field in Kaufmann Park and George J. Usher Field at Madison Park in advance of the 2022 sports seasons. Moving forward, each year the City will repair and recrown one of the six fields on a rotating basis during the offseason to ensure high standards are maintained. The City and the Board also agreed to meet annually prior to September 15th to agree on which field will be addressed in the coming offseason, based on specific conditions at each field and industry standards. The Board will contribute $20,000 annually to this work with the City paying for any other costs.
This press release was produced by Lakewood City School District. The views expressed here are the author’s own.