Soccer field sweep draws small group

A planned workday at Morgan County’s public soccer field drew 15 volunteers and turned up a scattering of debris on Saturday, June 4.

Community members and Parks & Rec officials showed up to scan the grass field for debris, at the invitation of Commissioner Brad Close and the Parks & Recreation board.

Concerns over glass and metal items found in the playing field drove the County Commissioners to close the playing site to public use earlier this spring.

Last Saturday, individuals were asked to walk the field at two-foot intervals and place small flags at any location where they found unusual debris.

After more than an hour, about 100 flags had been placed across the regulation-size field.

According to the volunteers who walked the field, most of the items they found were small pieces of glass. A handful of metal items were also spotted in the grass playing surface.

Commissioner Close asked that the flags remain in place, and said he intended to revisit the field with an official from the Department of Environmental Protection in the near future.

The county, in conjunction with the Town of Bath, has applied for a $25,000 Let’s Move! Cities & Towns Partnership Grant to pay for field improvements.

If the application is successful, that money would be applied toward the removal of the soccer field topsoil, installation of a geotech barrier and application of clean topsoil that would be seeded, according to Carol York, the county’s grants administrator.

Recipients of the grant will be notified by June 24, said York.