New Soccer Fields For Pinckneyville?
</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[The Pinckneyville City Council passed a resolution Monday confirming the need for a new soccer field complex by a four-to-one vote. Commissioner Leonard Heisner Jr. was the only one opposed. Heisner pointed out that the issues with a pre-existing option on the city-owned land where the new fields will be located have not been definitively settled yet.
Commissioner Sam Fulk said that if IDOT does not purchase the land where the current soccer fields are for the Route 13/127 expansion, or other problems arise, the city can withdraw their grant application and return the funding.
According to Chad Rushing, the proposed soccer complex, comprised of five soccer fields, a football field, a parking lot and a road, is the cornerstone of a larger sports complex and expansion of the Perry County Fairgrounds.
The soccer fields are only Phase I of a 15-year project.
He said negotiations have begun with the landowner who had the option on the proposed site, but there are still issues to be resolved, including a buffer zone around the fields for neighboring properties.
The city plans to sell the land where the soccer fields currently in use are located to IDOT to allow for the widening of Route 13/127 from two lanes to four lanes. The soccer fields are located just east of St. Bruno Catholic Cemetery on Alyssum Road.
The Foundation for Pinckneyville hopes to build the new soccer fields on land directly east of the current fields. Rushing said the proposed site is now a corn field and a ditch.
Total cost for the project is $1,287,000. The Foundation is applying for a $400,000 matching grant through the Illinois Department of Natural Resource's Open Space Land Acquisition and Development project. The Foundation is asking the city to use TIF funds for their $400,000 share.
Rushing said there are several options to obtain the remaining financing. The Foundation will continue fund-raising efforts. He hoped the city would use the proceeds of the sale of the old fields to help pay for the new ones. Soccer is very popular in the community.
The original plans for the new soccer fields included water and sewer service to the area. However, the water and sewer lines were removed from the plans for financial reasons.
Engineer Louis Curl of ?Curl and Associates in Centralia said that the project is less expensive without the water and sewer lines, which can be added later when further development occurs. Currently, there is no way to tell where the lines should be for future developments. The original cost was $1.9 million.
The area around the new soccer fields could be used for both commercial and residential development, as well as additions to the sports complex.