It’s Time To Play Ball

By Bristol Herald Courier Editorial Board

Published: June 29, 2008

A compromise is afoot between the town of Abingdon, Va., and Washington County on the new ballfield complex near Interstate 81’s Exit 22.

While this newspaper still decries the way that developers and government leaders ramrodded this land deal down the taxpayers’ throats, we embrace this move forward.

Our children should not be penalized by a poor decision when everyone agrees that the end result should be something that benefits our children.

This facility is about 10 years overdue.

A proposed funding agreement would call for county taxpayers to foot 60 percent of the complex’s bill, while Abingdon residents would pay the other 40 percent. (Abingdon originally wanted a 70-30 deal, while the county wanted 50-50.)

Given that Abingdon residents and businesses are responsible for 30 percent to 40 percent of the entire county’s budget, according to the county treasurer’s office, this compromise is palatable.

Now the question turns to the management of the ballfield complex.

We like a proposal currently being floated. It would create an authority to manage the sports complex and avoid many of the turf wars and politics that ground many a project to a halt.

The idea would be that Abingdon and Washington County would appoint the same number of members – two or three, for example – and that those four or six members would elect an at-large member, possibly to serve as chairman or chairwoman.

County Treasurer Fred Parker says such an authority is an equitable solution.

“I don’t want to see that project go down the tubes,” he says. “The losers aren’t our boards. The losers are our kids.”

Abingdon Town Councilwoman Cathy Lowe says such an authority currently operates the Abingdon/Washington County Business Incubator “and it works out very well. The appointees base their decisions about the operation of the incubator on smart business practices and not politics.”

It’s time for all of us to get past the malodorous land deal – $2.37 million for 60 acres. The cries of dissent should give way to an umpire’s call to “play ball!”