Nugget Fields 7/11 Committee

This is About Soccer, Not Slurpees

Last year, I served on the DJUSD’s 7/11 Surplus Property Committee for the Grande Site. No, the committee is not called “7/11” because we held our meetings in a convenience mart with Giant Slurpees; it is a reference to the state-mandated makeup of 7 to 11 local citizens.

During that process, I believe that we diligently followed the precepts of open and good government.  We challenged the administration and neighbors to provide thorough feedback and evidence on this matter. Somewhat reluctantly, we recommended that  with the current status of facilities, enrollment, and programs, DJUSD had no foreseeable educational uses for the site.  DJUSD is now pursuing the sale/development of this site with ongoing input from the Neighborhood Association.

Now, the community must face the fact that Nugget Fields is  also on the chopping block. By the way, it’s time for opponents of Covell Village to step up to the plate for a rational discussion on how to preserve park (and other open) space without concomitant development…

After the jump, you’ll find the first column by Michael P. Bartolic. Mike will be contributing regularly on parks, recreation and a smattering of other issues that keep him up late at night.

Nugget Fields: A Good Buy, or Goodbye Forever?

For Valentine’s Day the Davis Joint Unified School District announced it “is seeking residents representing a cross-section of the community to serve on a committee that will consider an alternative use for the school district’s ±9 acre Wildhorse site,  now known as Nugget Fields”.  It doesn’t take clairvoyance to understand that formation of this committee, called the “7/11 Surplus Property Committee”, is almost surely the  first step toward Nugget Fields being sold outright or “horse-traded” for a combination of cash and land elsewhere.

DJUSD’s desire to dispose of the property is neither  entirely unexpected nor necessarily avoidable. Some of the same demographic and financial factors which led to the decision to close Valley Oak Elementary provide an impetus to scrutinize any opportunity for DJUSD to derive money from its real estate holdings. Without editorializing on the harm to the community if Nugget Fields were lost and unreplaced, we want to encourage as  wide a volunteer pool as possible to come forward and participate in the process the District is advertising.

Given, DJUSD’s finances are long overdue for correction to  match funding realities.  Accruing debt and operating shortfalls alike are now horribly exacerbated by both the State’s immediate fiscal crisis and  the means by which the Governor is proposing to achieve a “balanced” State budget.  It may well be that Nugget Fields can no longer continue as a youth sports site and de facto open space.

But so much of importance hangs on the choice of what is the  best alternative use for this site, and how to implement that choice, that it would be shameful if citizens failed to come forward and  participate in the planning process.

For example, given the melt-down in the real estate market, is the present the best time to sell off Nugget, or any District property? Would the sale of other District real estate be more profitable in the short  term? Might it be better to broker partnerships with developers so that DJUSD retains an interest in its properties, including Nugget, which generate ongoing income rather simply a one-time profit on disposing of a site?

Some of these questions may be outside the formal scope of the 7/11 Committee, but there is no reason why the community can not begin these conversations now.

The issue that will loom largest for many in anticipating  the loss of Nugget Fields’ as playing space is the availability (or lack of same) of alternate fields. Is the District prepared to dedicate a similar amount of  space at other DJUSD sites (e.g., DHS, the three junior highs, and/or Valley Oak) to regular ongoing use by youth sports groups? Would the City be willing to assume some of the maintenance burden if such a “package” of  replacement field space was made available? Is UCD a potential “good neighbor” willing to offer any of its formal or informal field space to seasonal use by Davis’ major youth sports groups in lieu of Nugget Fields? Or will an offer of field space by developers of the Signature property or a resurrected Covell Village surface, and be enticement to permit more growth?

Again, we don’t need a crystal ball to know that change is  in the air. Also, it is certain that the broader the input on Nugget’s eventual disposition, the more likely we can achieve a solution with many positive benefits and as little harm as possible.

People interested in serving on the Committee should apply  at the District Office, 526 B Street, or contact Michael Adell, Director of Facilities, at (530) 759-2182.  The form may be downloaded in both (word) and (pdf) formats.  The completed application may also be emailed to: Penny Pyle (ppyle@djusd.k12.ca.us).  Applications are due Friday February 22, 2008 at 4:00pm.

UPDATE 02/20/08: According to District Staff,  with only two days until they are due, ZERO applications have been picked up at or delivered to the Headquarters. – KKP

UPDATE 02/22/08 3:30pm: With half an hour until the filing deadline, there are 9 applications on file.  Thanks for stepping up to the plate (… probably should use a soccer analogy, not baseball… how about goalpost?), Davisites! – KKP