Ridgefield residents rearrange fields and buildings on an interactive map of a proposed outdoor recreation complex Thursday night.
Brooks Johnson/The Columbian
RIDGEFIELD — If you build it, they will come.
Oh wait, they’re already here.
Ridgefield, racing to keep up with its population boom, is looking to build an outdoor sports and recreation complex to help ease the overcrowding at existing parks.
“We don’t have enough fields for the kids here, let alone the kids who are coming,” City Manager Steve Stuart said at an open house for the project Thursday night.
The proposed complex, just south of the high school on Hillhurst Road, could hold fields for football, soccer and lacrosse as well as trails and baseball and softball diamonds for schools and little leagues.
It’s too early to tell what it will look like, though dozens of residents came through Ridgefield High School on Thursday night to offer their ideas while huddling around interactive maps.
“This can be built into the topography.”
“There are costs, though.”
“Will dogs be allowed on the trails?”
“Why not put a field on top of the school?”
Since the complex hasn’t been designed, there’s no way to know what construction will cost. The city is proposing $3 million for the early stages of the project in 2016 largely from real estate excise tax revenue.
Stuart said he doesn’t see a need to raise taxes to pay for the facilities, since grants and other money should be available.
The recreation complex will be built on 60 acres adjacent to a new school, though it isn’t known what ages it will hold.
“It could be a win for everybody,” Ridgefield Superintendent Nathan McCann said. “But nothing is certain.”
Many of the visitors were certainly happy to see progress on the expansive new park.
“I’m excited about the project,” said Jeff Carlsen, who has three young children. “We were recently at Luke Jensen (Sports Park), and it’s exciting to get something like that here.”
Residents moving around cardboard baseball fields, soccer fields, buildings and parking lots on table-sized maps debated the finer points of the projects.
Will there be turf fields? How much parking is necessary? What kind of restrictions will there be on the fields? And what to do about all those hills?
By the end of next year, there will be a much clearer picture, as Stuart said construction should start in 2017.
“Whether the school district, sports clubs or citizens, people are definitely excited about this opportunity,” he said.
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