SAN DIEGO — “Hopefully it doesn’t take another 5-years,”
That’s what coaches and families who attended a Logan Heights Parks and Recreation special meeting on Tuesday said. They expressed to the city and let them know their discontent for what they call a decades long battle of inequity.
“I guess we’re not a priority,” said Coach Francisco Ortiz, who has used Memorial Community park’s soccer field for his youth soccer league.
Coach Ortiz and his youth soccer team have had to deal with lighting issues at Memorial Community Park for the past six weeks.
Light posts at that park remained inoperable after a breaker malfunction left fields dark after sunset, forcing the team to change hours or risk playing in the dark.
Ortiz expressed his concerns and said the issues keep adding up and having no repairs makes problems even worse.
“So, I’m limited to what I have, I have three fields now...1,2,3. And the issue right now is the watering, see how it gets muddy,” said Coach Ortiz.
He and other locals say the lights are part of the issue, the other is the city’s slow response to repair dilapidated parks in the area.
Which is why families addressed the issues at the parks and recreation meeting.
With so many issues still waiting to get repaired, this has also brought attention to a larger issue that needs to be resolved, disparities in spending and neglected underserved neighborhoods.
“I see it a lot more here in this area, you step out of this area of 8th North and all the parks there are lit up very nice. All the fields are well maintained. Everything is up an Adam, And it’s sad to see our area, our neighborhood," said Ortiz.
During the meeting, families also advised other locals to show their support by becoming involved.
“Like we need to make noise, me and you complaining Ian typing to help. We need you and the rest of the community,” said a community member.
District 8 City councilwoman Vivian Moreno, did not attend the meeting, but a representative from her team was there to inform families that the concerns will be shared with city officials.
“With that in mind, we sent the memo to the mayor,” said Rep. Lizzie Rodriguez.
Moreno's spokesperson also announced during the meeting that funds have been allotted to build streets lights and traffic signals.
Still, families fear the issues happening in their community could continue and worry repairs will take another five years.
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