- May 1, 2024
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The city of Palm Coast recently upgraded some of its fields at the Indian Trails Sports Complex and added new ones, in part for use by the Palm Coast Little League and its hundreds of players.
But two fields aren't as playable as they could be, PCLL leadership told City Council members during a March 2 council meeting: They still lack fencing, dugouts to protect kids during play and an overhead net to protect the audience from foul balls.
The Palm Coast Little League is asking the city to add those elements.
"Ninety-five percent of this is a safety concern," said Peter Schoembs, representing Palm Coast Little League at the council meeting. "... We don’t want to see any of these kids get hurt, and we don’t want to see spectators get hurt."
The PCLL has held off on commitments for future events that would include those fields until the work is done, Schoembs said.
Altogether, the work would cost about $100,000, according to a city staff presentation at the meeting.
"Let's get these fields done as quickly as we can," Schoembs said. "The safety of these kids and their parents, their families and spectators, is number one."
In addition to adding new ball fields, the city recently added fencing, dugouts and bleachers at existing softball fields and renovated the concession stand, restrooms and press box.
City Council members did not vote on the proposed expenditure at the meeting — the topic was on the agenda as a staff presentation, not an action item — but several voiced their support.
Mayor Milissa Holland referred to the improvements as an investment in public safety. Council members Victor Barbosa and Eddie Branquinho agreed.
Branquinho said the city would be at fault if the fields were used without the improvements, and someone was injured there.
"Sometimes, you invest to save," Branquinho said. "That's another one of those cases. By investing, we’re saving a lot. We could be saving a life. So — very important."
CORRECTION: A previous version of this story listed incorrectly the last name of PCLL's president, Peter Schoembs. The error has been corrected.
