| | Published February 26th, 2014
| Improving Access to Sports Facilities in Moraga
| | By Sophie Braccini | | |
Sports are taken very seriously by everyone who has something to do with youth and recreation in Moraga. This was evidenced on Feb. 10 when the "Who's Who" of town staff and educational institutions met to discuss how to improve the availability of sports facilities for residents. The Town Council, the Moraga School District and the Moraga Sports Alliance were all present - and, more unusually, the heads of Campolindo High School and Saint Mary's College also joined in to discuss the sharing of sports facilities within the town. Together they form a subcommittee that will meet monthly for about nine months.
The Joint Ad Hoc Facilities Planning Subcommittee is comprised of James Donahue, president of Saint Mary's College; town council members Dave Trotter and Mike Metcalf; John Walker, principal of Campolindo; the Moraga Sports Alliance's Harry Crouch, Chris Maher, Ken Towers and Judy McNeil; Charles McNulty and Shari Simon of the Moraga School District Governing Board; and Park and Recreation commissioner Phil Crosby. Jay Ingram, parks and recreation director, is the staff liaison.
Ingram summarized the three objectives of the subcommittee: To establish a complete list of existing sports and recreation facilities belonging to the town, the school district, the high school and the college; to establish joint use agreements for cross-use of the facilities; and to discuss possible long term joint projects that will increase the availability of facilities.
The first meeting of the committee was entirely dedicated to the inventory of the recreation and sports facilities that exist in Moraga. The town itself does not own many sports fields. The sand volleyball courts at the Commons Park have been used by the college as additional courts for large competitions and both the Commons and Rancho Laguna parks are used for sports practice by younger age groups and for informal games. The school district, the high school and the college own the bulk of the sports facilities.
During the first meeting the representatives of the Moraga Sports Alliance did not say much. Josh Weaver, of the CYO basketball league, said later that sports groups in Moraga are challenged by the lack of facilities. In Moraga, CYO teaches basketball to about 240 boys and girls from second to eighth grade. It has access to only two half-size courts at Camino Pablo and Los Perales elementary schools and one court at the middle school. "We have to be creative," said Weaver, "but some parents complain that the children do not get enough practice."
The discussion about joint use agreements between the parties will begin at the next meeting. For example, the town and school district will talk about special conditions for use of the field at Camino Pablo Elementary School; in 2011 the town used $700,000 from its Measure WW funds to restore the school's sports field. Other examples include the former use of Campolindo fields by the Moraga Baseball Association and the college facilities that are used during the summer by the town to offer camps to young residents.
Finally the subcommittee will discuss possible joint projects for the future. One of them could be the renovation of nine acres at Joaquin Moraga Intermediate School; the fields have great potential but need a lot of work. Another project that could come to the table is a multi-generational community center, a structure that would be similar to the Wagner Ranch gym in Orinda - an 8,000 square foot building that is operated under a joint use agreement between the city and the Orinda Union School District.
The subcommittee will meet the first Monday evening of each month at the Hacienda de las Flores. The agenda is publicized on the town's website - from moraga.ca.gov go to the calendar - and the meetings are open to the public.
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Lamorinda Weekly, Moraga CA