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52 <br />left an area of the property as vacant, and had to remain so, as, without a physical <br />barrier to prevent unauthorized access to the playground, the slope of the land makes it <br />difficult to monitor students and their safety as against unpermitted visitors unless the <br />playground equipment were confined to a specific area—leaving an acre of the property <br />"unusable" for educational purposes in its current form. Combined with the slope of <br />the land, no organized recreational fields could be marked in that area, either. The <br />piecemeal construction of facilities at Wilshire Park has left the well -used tee- <br />ball/softball field occupying a piece of land that prevents any multiple use of that <br />portion of the property, and the topography of the remainder of the parcel restricts <br />usage in that area. <br />However, by re -orienting the tee-ball/softball field, and re -grading the underutilized <br />area, up to four youth soccer fields could be placed in an area where currently none <br />could possibly be marked. These would be dedicated soccer fields — giving youth <br />soccer players in St. Anthony a place of their own, which is not shared with baseball, <br />softball or football teams. Furthermore, it would be one of the few places that could <br />host tee-ball/softball games simultaneous to soccer games—which alleviates a <br />significant amount of pressure on all of St. Anthony's outdoor youth recreational <br />facilities. The re -grading would also allow a FIFA -regulation soccer field to be marked, <br />giving middle- and high school aged students the opportunity to play on the fields as <br />well, without having to work around football practices or games, as the other <br />regulation -sized fields are shared with football teams. <br />St. Anthony Youth Soccer has long advocated for a facility for which it did not need to <br />share with other programs. Since its numbers have increased over the past ten years, <br />the congestion on the multi-purpose fields of Central Park meant that soccer at times is <br />bumped to less desirable times and days—since soccer is better able to handle <br />inclement weather than some other team sports. Furthermore, the soccer program <br />desired a place where kids could play recreationally without interfering with a softball <br />or baseball game going on in the same field. While St. Anthony did mark a small <br />youth -sized field dedicated to soccer on an open area immediately west of the <br />elementary school itself, the constant, April through October use of that field means its <br />physical condition is less than ideal. Adding more soccer fields is essential to reducing <br />congestion on all playing fields in St. Anthony, and will increase access to participants <br />in not only soccer, but softball, baseball and football. <br />Moreover, the addition of a chain-link fence will protect athletes from having to chase <br />errant balls into the neighboring streets, endangering themselves in having to cross a <br />road to recover a missed kick. Such a fence will enhance the school -day usability of the <br />park as well, since it will provide a barrier to unauthorized access of the property. This <br />security will allow kids to use the park recreationally at recess in the open areas, as well <br />as for its primary use as the home of St. Anthony Village Youth Soccer. <br />36 <br />