Why Stop at Baseball Field?

It seems as if there’s enough blame to go around regarding the controversy surrounding Tyler Beck Memorial Ballpark on the Tommie Barfield Elementary campus. The problem is the biggest losers are the youth of Marco Island. But where there are problems there are also opportunities. It’s time for our community leaders to take advantage of those opportunities.

Ironically, on an island of millionaires, our elementary school and middle school children play on outdoor recreational facilities that are far below acceptable standards. In fact, it took a spirited group of supporters - led by Gulf Coast Little Leaguers in uniform - to prompt City Council to send city manager Mike McNees to talk to the Collier County School Public School (CCPS) officials about stopping the process of ending two interlocal agreements between CCPS, the City, and Marco Island Academy. On Sept. 23, 2024, Marco City Council voted to end the 10-year agreements that were in place. The agreements focus on the baseball field that memorializes Tyler Beck, the 11-year-old Marco youth who was killed while riding his bicycle on San Marco Road in 1995. 

But the problems run deeper than the neglected baseball field. To fully understand the problems - and opportunities - one needs to understand the history of the property adjacent to the two schools. From the 1970s and into the 1990s, the property featured two lighted tennis courts that were shared by TBE and the community. In addition to free play, the courts were often used for overflow during island-wide tennis tournaments. The area served as a wonderful park area. The tennis courts are still there, occasionally being used by TBE for activities other than tennis. They are currently closed for community use. They could easily be resurfaced and restored to their past glory. What an opportunity for an island void of public tennis and pickleball facilities to return quality recreational facilities for the students and community of the island.

TBE is also plagued by a slew of unused posts on their property, skeletons of an ill-fated shade structure from years past. Those posts should be removed immediately, providing a safer play area for TBE students.

Adjacent to Marco Island Charter Middle School (MICMS) is a dilapidated multi-use field that is separated from the baseball field’s outfield fence by a swale.

Superintendent of Schools Leslie Ricciardelli made a pledge during the February 5 school board meeting. “It’s incumbent on us to make it right,” Ricciardelli said. The school board voted unanimously to end the current interlocal agreements while inviting the City of Marco Island to come back with plans for a new interlocal agreement by March 3, with a three-year agreement with an option for a five-year agreement after that.

While improving the baseball field is a good start, it should be part of a more comprehensive plan. On a vacant property-strapped island with overloaded field space, we need to best utilize the property we have. Imagine turning the currently deteriorating property into a showplace to be enjoyed by students and community members alike.

Acting city council chair Erik Brechnitz suggested money is not the problem during the February 3 city council meeting, citing $200,000 in the current budget for “a trolley that’s not going to run. That money could be repurposed to redo the ball field, do the sod, fix the sprinkler system and get it ready for normal maintenance." At the same meeting, McNees told council, “Your marching orders to me for fiscal 2025 are that current-year expenses will not exceed current-year revenues. And we’re breaking even.” It sounds like McNees is saying that money is the issue. Judging by the positive dialogue at their February 5 meeting, CCPS appears eager to play ball with the city.

It’s time for city and county leaders to look at the big picture. Take advantage of this rare opportunity to turn a scar into a star. Resurface the tennis courts and create a multi-use tennis and pickleball facility. Improve the baseball field to meet the standards enjoyed by other schools in the county. Turn the neglected field at MICMS into a soccer/football field that all Marco Islanders can be proud to play on.

It seems fair to say that these facilities are among the worst in the county. What an opportunity for a hero - or heroine - to step forward and right this wrong. Our kids deserve better. Our community deserves better. As Ricciardelli said, it’s time to "make it right.”