Maryland and Montgomery County officials announced their support Tuesday for a major soccer complex in Germantown that has soccer enthusiasts thrilled and local residents worried.
Gov. Parris Glendening announced the state would give $3 million from its Program Open Space fund to help pay for the first phase of a major plan being proposed for South Germantown Regional Park. The 650-acre park is located off Schaeffer Road near Boyds .
"If you think about it, the number one most pressing need for Montgomery and Prince George's counties is soccer fields," Glendening said Monday.
The nearly $10 million phase would cover the cost of 16 outdoor soccer fields, parking, roads and water and sewer hook up, according to Rachel Newhouse, landscape architect for the Montgomery County Department of Parks. If all goes as planned, the comple x would open in 2002.
County Executive Douglas M. Duncan also announced he will seek the county council's support for $1.5 million to help the project. Duncan will make a formal announcement Thursday in Germantown where he will reveal his 1999 budget recommendations.
A proposed tournament field that could seat thousands of spectators has not been included in this phase of the plans, according to Newhouse.
County soccer players are often frustrated when trying to use public fields because of the overcrowding.
But while players are excited that high quality fields are on the horizon, residents living near the proposed complex worry about how those fields will affect their rural community.
"We want to try and prevent anything bad from happening before the fact instead of after the fact," said Susan Burdette, a member of Citizens of South Germantown. "We're not opposed to the park, we just don't want our whole lives affected by the park."
Burdette and her neighbors are gearing up for a public meeting Feb. 3 at 7:30 p.m. at the Upcounty Regional Service Center in Germantown, where county officials will discuss plans for the soccer complex. Traffic, noise and lighting are among the top conce rns residents will want officials to consider in the park plans.
"With the expansion of Germantown and the building that's going on, recreational facilities are needed," said Boyds resident Hal Baker. "This is a classic case where there is a need and with the right attitude and approach, everybody can come out a winner ."
The parks department will use about $500,000 for design and engineering costs from its Capital Improvements Program. According to Donald Cochran, county director of Parks, the uses being proposed are an appropriate use for the state's Program Open Space F unds.
"There's going not only to be an opportunity for the soccer players, there will be facilities...for broad community use," he said.
The park will also offer picnic areas, playgrounds and other ball fields. The county planning board will have to approve park plans following next month's public meeting, according to Cochran.
Funding for the design stage of the plan will be available in July and construction is slated to begin in fiscal year 2000 or 2001. Officials say Glendening and Duncan are responding to the funding support coming from private entities. According to offici als, John S. Hendricks, chairman and chief executive officer of Discovery Communications in Bethesda, has put forward $250,000 for the project. Hendricks, whose children play soccer in the county, came before the county in October with his vision for a so ccer complex.
Because of the nearly 2,000 homes being built in that area of Germantown, existing roads will be widened or extended to provide better park access.
Officials say park visitors will drive into the park from Route 118 instead of Schaeffer Road. Richter Farm Road will serve as the main access point to the park. It will be extended to intersect Schaeffer Road. Route 118 and Richter Farm Road will accommo date four lanes of travel when completed.
Residents are glad officials are trying to maintain the traffic, but still worry about the numbers headed their way.
"This can have a terrible effect on the community of Boyds," Baker said. "The bottom line is, in my opinion, that if there is a way to use Schaeffer Road or Black Rock Road to get [people] into the park, it's going to be a disaster."
But officials see Germantown as a good location for the complex and believe the construction currently going on will ease traffic problems that would happen now.
"I think now that the community is growing so rapidly in the Germantown area, this provides a great opportunity to start this park off," Cochran said. "We're hoping through signage all the traffic will be funneled down [Route] 118 instead of Schaeffer."
From the Gazette Papers