John Turnbull, Bloomington Parks and Recreation sports division director

Who: John Turnbull, Bloomington Parks and Recreation sports division director

What: Online chat, April 28, 2009

QUESTION: Local soccer is suffering from having only one sports facility for youth players in the county, Karst Farm Park. As the sport grows in popularity and county funding shrinks, that park has deteriorated over recent years yet if the county moves players off to preserve the fields there is nowhere else to go. Could the city not cooperate with the county to permit a unified approach to hosting youth soccer throughout the city as well; bringing activity back to underutilized city parks and allowing Karst Farm Park to recover more?

Jeff Thomas, Bloomington

JOHN TURNBULL: Jeff, first let me lower your expectations a little on what I know about this topic. I'm pretty versed in it but a little short on knowledge of Karst budget and practices. But...here we go on some history first:

Years ago the city and county were under one organization. They split in about the mid 1980's I believe is the approximate time. Since then, the county has been sole administer of Karst. The city and county did enter into verbal agreements to not duplicate services in reference to soccer. We (the city parks) has agreed to remain out of soccer for the most part and the county agreed to stay out of softball for the most part.

Now specifically on your question....I would agree with your assessment in that...the county funds are not good to maintain the heavily used fields. And believe me, the sport of soccer is one of the top activities that will stress turf. It takes time, money, and some clever management to just make it with soccer fields.

I would have to be honest in that I don't see the city parks joining forces with the county at least on a level of funding or personnel. We have our own budget problems and multiple challenges. However, we could offer some things that would not cost much. That is, advice, maybe share some knowledge of practices, maybe some equipment. One other possibility is the city parks is acquiring the SportsPlex. The turf field in there could become available on 'iffy' weather times of the year that really stress natural turf fields.

I am going to make contact with a person I know in the county department and offer to meet and discuss some things along the lines I mentioned.

You might find this interesting....I believe we will see an artificial outdoor field for soccer in this town within 5-7 years. They cost $200,000 or so depending on the subsurface construction...but the long term pay back. Just in chemicals, water, seed, labor, etc.

Hope that all helps.

QUESTION: Bryan Park is a real treasure. Thank you for such a wonderful park for walkers! A question about sharing the walkway with bicyclists: Who has the "right of way"? Many times I have had a bicyclist shout "Watch out!" or "Coming through!" as if I should step aside for them (which I do, to avoid being hit). Can you clear this up?

Suzanne, Bloomington

JOHN TURNBULL: Suzanne: I hope you enjoy your park for years to come.

The trails on all our parks are open to non-motorized and non-horses (is that a correct term?). The trail policies are quite liberal as you can imagine enforcement is pretty much self enforcement. That means....it is driven by etiquette and customs.

A walker has just as much right to the trail as a biker or roller bladder or stroller, etc. Common courtesy is to just move close to the side and get in single file to allow others to pass. Incidentally, it is standard practice to stay on the right side of the trail when riding, walking, what have you.

I use our trails extensively and find that the others that use them are inherently the amicable type. A nice request is almost always honored so if you have trouble with someone, a pleasant request always works for me. My pet peeve is the 25 foot retractable leashes with dogs on the end. But even then, people are nice about it.

QUESTION: Does the city have to subsidize the cost of maintaining the baseball fields at the Winslow Complex? After all expenses are calculated and the usage fees are paid, how much of the parks and recreation budget is needed? Based on the recent concern about the condition and cost of maintaining the county's soccer fields at Karst Farm park, it seems quite expensive to maintain a quality facility like the city's Winslow Complex.

Ken, Bloomington

JOHN TURNBULL: Ken: You are correct on your assertions in your question.

Our department sets subsidy goals for all our areas. The subsidy goal standard for most youth areas or complexes is about 1/2. That means, we try to recover or capture revenue that will cover approximately half the expenses. So...if a complex cost $100 for the year...we try to collect about $50 in fees. We obviously may begin cost cutting measures if we think the fees are not going to come in or whatever.

Winslow has been costing a little more than we hoped because it is over 30 years old. That means depreciation has taken a toll (field lighting old, fencing old, machinery older, etc). I don't have the figures with me but I do know that Winslow is typically subsidized about $150,000 annually. Some years better than others. So our expenses run about $300,000 and we collect about $150,000 in fees.

One advantage to running ball fields as opposed to soccer fields.......soccer plays a much longer season and they typically don't mind playing in rain. That can really put the stress on a field and that means more $$$$ to keep the turf going.

Hope that helps you.

QUESTION: The City has been very successful in getting ASA national softball tournaments to Bloomington. What is coming up this year?

ASA, Bloomington

JOHN TURNBULL: We are hosting two tournaments at the same time.

Girls Fastpitch 10U Class B Northern and Girls Fastpitch 18U Class A Northern.

We expect about 60 teams in all to attend these events.

These should be a real nice piece of business for the hotels, restaurants, retail sectors during a time of year when things can be slow. First week of August.

The term Northern designates an area of the country that these teams can come from. In this case...the boundries are about Michigan/Indiana/Kentucky to the east and all the way out to Montana/Wyoming in the west.

QUESTION: Cascades Golf Course is in great shape. The golf course industry seems to be down aroung the country. How is Cascades doing?

John Daly, Bloomington

JOHN TURNBULL: John: I would love to tee it up with you anytime.

It is an interesting question because the golf industry is a rapid moving business that we have to monitor constantly. It moves much faster than most other activities we are involved with. The industry has gone through the past 10-15 years of rapid building of courses. It seems successful folks got together and wanted to build a golf course. This has caused the supply to increase. At the same time....demand has seemed to plateau with time and disposable income being some of the major factors mentioned with consumers.

Our course has had record years the last 4 or 5 years and we feel it is due to some luck (gotta have that), solid management (I stay at a distance so the staff can do their job), location (short drive for a dense amount of people), and locally some other courses have struggled for some of their own reasons.

We also have a hunch that the struggles in the economy help our position in the market. Our prices are considered very reasonable and very affordable. Hope to see you on the links.

MODERATOR: Thanks for all the good questions today.

John, thanks again for joining us. Is there anything else you'd like to add?

JOHN TURNBULL: This has been fun. Thanks to Sarah Morin for setting it all up.

I would like to leave your readers with some potentially interesting tid bits. The surface you walk, run, ride, or play on can really make a difference in how you feel after the activity. The pressure on your body from being active on concrete is dramatically great than say mulch or soft surface. If you want to get a less impact activity on your body, head to our soft surface trail down near Country Club Road. Or try biking instead of running.

Tip of the day....if you haven't hiked Leonard Springs you are really missing a jewel. It is one of our parks located southwest of town and it has all you need to get back to nature. Cave, waterfall, wildflowers, cliffs, ....you name it.

Enjoy the spring!