Person Field: Are the Wolves Circling?

Person Field has long been the poor stepsister in the lineup of Coeur d’Alene public parks, but today it is more vulnerable than ever. Citizens, beware: There are some wolves looking to take dubious advantage of this little sister.

Person Field is a three-acre park, located at 15th Street and Garden Avenue. She’s not fancy and has no real landscaping to speak of. But this simple, open, grassy park is prized by the surrounding neighborhood and Lakes Middle School is just a couple blocks to the north. The field is used for football practice, softball teams, track practice and lacrosse teams.

The city owns only half the park, the school district owns the other half. Two years ago, the school district wanted to build a new Lakes Middle School on Person Field. The proposal was not made public in any reasonable way. It slipped through most of the system without notice.

Mayor Sandi Bloem and the City Council voted in April 2005 to give our half of Person Field to the school district, and they did so without any public input. Yes, read it again: The Mayor signed away our half of a public park without any public feedback!

When the project finally came to a required public hearing, which by the way was held on election night two years ago, a night when most attention was elsewhere, no one expected the neighbors to show up. But they did. They were not large in number but their passionate bond with this lowly stepsister of a park was obvious.

They told of living near the park for more than 30 years, recalled generations of family members enjoying the park’s open space, and spoke of the all-important character this expanse of lawn brings to their neighborhood.

We, on Planning and Zoning, were surprised that no meetings or information had been arranged for the public about this proposed change and that parkland had been signed away without public comment. We were impressed with the neighbors’ defense of their special park. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and they were loyal to their lovely lady, Person Field.

The school district changed its plans soon after and Person Field was temporarily out of danger. But now the wolves are circling again. The city has new federal money for low income housing and Person Field is being labeled as “underutilized,” a term no self-respecting sister would appreciate.

Yet in contrast to plain Person Field are the upscale, new sister parks at Riverstone and Mill River. Taxpayers have provided more than $4 million for these fancy parks that the highly advantaged residents of the special developments will have in their views.

The people near Person Field are not complaining. They just want to keep their park. The current city budget has no money allotted for the acquisition of the other half of Person Field or for any improvements to the park at all. Zero.

Is this a case of the haves and the have-nots? Someone needs to wave a wand, get city ownership of the other half of Person Field and spruce her up a bit. It won’t take much, just a few flowers, trees and benches and she’ll be the belle of the ball to those that appreciate her longevity. And the important positive impact she has on the vulnerable neighborhood that she crowns. Where is that Fairy Godmother?