The Odessa City Council Tuesday directed the Parks and Recreation Department to look into the cost of spreading sod over 14 acres of Sherwood Park instead of establishing a lawn using sprigs.
Deputy Parks Director Matthew Christman told the council that prior to retiring Parks Director Steve Patton thought it would be best to replace 14 acres of Bermuda grass at Sherwood Park with Tiff Turf Grass because it would handle the wear and tear of soccer teams better.
The idea was to establish the grass using sprigs.
Christman told the council it would cost the city $157,000 to put in Tiff Turf Grass at Sherwood Park and on four acres at Slater Park.
Councilmember Steve Thompson expressed doubts the sprigs would be able to overcome the Bermuda grass, which is filled with stickers. Sprigs work best on a “clean, perfect surface,” he said.
If sod were put down by June 1 or July 1, it would be in good shape by soccer season in September, Thompson said.
Mayor Javier Joven also said he wants to know if the soccer association currently using Sherwood Park would be willing to pay for the cost of new grass.
They chose to stop using the athletic fields at the University of Texas Permian Basin and started using Sherwood Park, which is a neighborhood park, he said.
“They arbitrarily went to Sherwood. Sherwood was redesigned to be a green space and now an athletic field. So now we are being asked, taxpayers are being asked to make some changes, some recommendations that were put in place by the former director,” Joven said.
The council directed Christman to reach out to the association and to investigate the cost of sod for Sherwood Park, but the council members directed him to go ahead and sprig the four acres at Slater Park.
The council also indicated it’s in favor of replacing three light poles at the Woodson Park Aquatic Center at a cost of just under $152,000.
Christman said one of the poles was blown over by high winds recently and an inspection of the two other poles showed rust at the bottom.
The city asked six vendors to bid on a project to install new poles and an inverter, which would allow the lights to come on even if there’s a loss of power, Christman said. Hawkins Construction was the only one to reply.
The poles will be installed after the pools shut down for the season, Christman said.
In other news, Joven asked the council to speak with their constituents about the possibility of banning kids from parks during school hours unless they are there with a parent or legal guardian.
Ever since he was elected mayor 29 months ago, Joven said he’s been routinely getting calls about large groups congregating at parks during the school day and he asked City Attorney Dan Jones to see if there was anything that could be done to curtail it.
A city ordinance already addresses the issue, but notice would need to be posted via signs, Jones said.
The council agreed to discuss the issue with local residents and come back to discuss what they hear sometime before school resumes. They also intend to invite Ector County Independent School District Police Chief Jeff Daniels to join in on the discussions.
