Placentia : Public to Be Asked to Vote on Sports Complex

Voters will be asked in November whether they want to pay for a $1.4-million sports complex at Kraemer Junior High School.

The project has been in limbo for years because neither the city nor the Placentia Unified School District has had the money to overhaul the school’s athletic fields, said Jim Soto, recreation director.

Because of an agreement with the school district, the city is able to use the field at nights and on the weekends, he said.

But the heavy use by students and by youth and adult leagues has taken a toll on the 14-acre field, which Soto said “desperately” needs to be leveled.

Plans include four new ball fields, new lights, a parking lot, restrooms and a snack shop, he said.

Neither the council nor the city’s finance director, Frank Dunnavant, have a specific plan for financing the complex, but Dunnavant said he expects that each property owner would be assessed a certain amount. A definite plan will be worked out within the next two months, he said.

This would be the first assessment levied on property to pay for recreational facilities, he said. Assessment fees have been collected for such things as sewer, storm drain, street and gutter repairs, he said.