Clarksville Now publishes opinion pieces representing both sides of a variety of topics – in this case, a public complaint about the condition of city soccer fields, paired with a response from the city. Opinions presented do not necessarily reflect those of the newsroom or management. To join the conversation, email your opinion piece to news@clarksvillenow.com.

Contributed commentary, in an open letter to Mayor Joe Pitts, from Mary Cunningham:

Do you know where half of Clarksville is during Saturdays in the spring and fall? It’s very easy to see if you drive down 101st Parkway and look to your left, right before Peachers Mill. You will spot a sea of blue and yellow. These people are your constituents, Mayor Pitts. They are taxpayers. They, with others in the community, give everyone who works for Clarksville Parks and Recreation a job.

This Montgomery County Soccer Association (MCSA) season has got to be a new low point for the City of Clarksville. The fact that Clarksville Parks and Recreation did not even bother to seed the fields at Heritage Park is embarrassing. It is an embarrassment to our city. My son plays as a goalie for both MCSA Rec League and middle school and has literally gotten road rash from your dirt soccer fields! His friend also received a big cut on his leg from falling on your raw dirt fields. I should mention my son also plays for a travel team and every single field we have played on is 100 times better than Heritage Park (Pleasant View, White House, Hendersonville, Gallatin, I could go on and on), so this is not something that can be blamed on COVID.

The cancellation of games (related to small amounts of rain) and loss of opportunities for our children is directly related to the lack of care put into those fields on the part of the Clarksville Parks and Recreation. The middle school will likely not even be able to finish their season at this rate. Not to mention the recreation league now has games canceled that will not be rescheduled.

This is not weather related. This is poor maintenance from people getting paid with taxpayer dollars.

I want to see someone take action to fix this problem immediately and a public apology to the people of Clarksville. Mayor Pitts, It’s time for you to get involved in this and hold Clarksville Parks and Recreation accountable. The time to fix this is now.

Mary Cunningham

Contributed response from Jennifer Letoureau, Director, Clarksville Parks and Recreation:

Clarksville Parks & Recreation is disappointed in the condition of our soccer fields this year. Our mission is to facilitate recreational opportunities for Clarksville-Montgomery County, and regarding our soccer fields this spring, we came up short and we sincerely apologize to our soccer community.

In early April, department representatives met with MCSA and Clarksville Soccer Club board members and shared the background of the situation, our plan of action and when we all could expect to see improvements. Those action items included a revised Athletic Field Closure Policy that outlines necessary field rest and consistent standards for field playability.

With rain in the forecast this week, our staff made a judgment call to take advantage of incoming weather and aerate the fields to allow the water and oxygen to percolate the compacted areas. Because other fields were available, this would not have affected play those evenings. However, the high amount of rain negatively affected field playability. The department does not allow play when field moisture conditions may contribute to unsafe play or damage the fields and significantly lessen their safety and suitability for future play.

On a positive note, we have hired a crew chief who has an associate’s degree in Outdoor Sports and Recreation Management with a focus on turf. He also has 10 years of experience in turf management, including irrigation, turf growth, fertilization, equipment operations and training of staff.

As you know, several years ago the department was directed to open the fields for games and practices seven days a week. While our maintenance staff shares in the responsibility for the field conditions, the additional impact of practices, which allow too little time for the fields to rest and recover, has been damaging to the fields. Going forward, we will be encouraging teams to relocate practices to practice fields whenever possible, rotating the use of game fields and asking for two consecutive days of rest per week for each field.

Our staff is aggressively addressing the very slow process of turf repair, and we are looking forward to providing the exceptional facilities our community expects. The soccer facility will be in a much better position this fall and even better next spring. We request patience from the soccer community as we work through these issues.

We also are working hard to add new fields at our Exit 8 Athletic Complex, which will add capacity and really help meet the community need for more facilities.

Jennifer Letoureau