We all knew this was an issue after the Martha Parsons Family Activity Complex was constructed and a lot of high school activities moved to that space – What is going to happen to First Street Community Center Field?

The field has been used as a host for athletics for middle school and parks and recreation or youth clubs to play on.

Last year, during harder budget decisions for the Mount Vernon Community School District, forgoing the normal fertilization and watering of the field was cut as a line item for cost savings. It was potentially a $45,000 savings for the district. And this past summer, with more often rain storms, the need for watering the field wasn’t an issue.

But we’re nearing the end of fall, and a resource that many different organizations use for their sports has seen what not investing in fertilization and weed mitigation looks like. And it’s a rough field at this time.

As the school board discussed – without taking any of that maintenance that is usually done, it is becoming a liability.

As board member Tim Keegan and other board members stated, the district needs to look at their future with the f ield, especially as they’re looking at budget line items.

Board member Lance Schoff did mention that the district had a two-year plan of keeping that field functioning as the district evaluated their options for those middle school sports and athletics that utilize the field with the activity complex opened at Mount Vernon.

There are other owners of the field, including the City and Alliant Energy. It may be time for all entities to have discussions on maintenance of the field moving forward if it is a community asset we need for youth sports.

Or maybe it is getting that abstract and finding someone who has other ideas for the space in the future. We know the community came together in the early 2000s to save the field for continued usage. Maybe it’s time for the community to weigh in as well on the future of that space as well.