Antioch Little League to confront County Fair Board tonight over losing one of three fields at fairgrounds
Planned for the relocation of the Antioch Paintball Park so that land can be used for horse boarding and training facility
By Allen Payton
According to Scot Pearson, president of the Antioch Little League, they are going to lose one of their three fields on the county fairgounds property that they’ve been using since 1956. An announcement was sent out via email asking for supporters of the league to attend tonight’s meeting of the fair board, officially known as the 23rd District Agricultural Association Board of Directors. (See bottom of article.)
Pearson wrote letters to Assemblyman Jim Frazier and even to U.S. Senator Diane Feinstein asking for their assistance in keeping the third field in play.
In a letter to the fair board dated November 23, 2019, he wrote:
Members of the Board,
I am sending out this letter to make you all aware of the correspondence over this last week with County Fair Board Director Joe Brengle. On Friday, November 15, 2019, I received a phone call from Mr. Brengle requesting a meeting in his office to go over some changes that may apply to our 2020 field lease contract. The current contract expires on December 31, 2019. I agreed to meet with him in his office on Monday, November 18, 2019, at 2:00 pm.
I arrived at 1:55pm on Monday for the meeting as scheduled. Joe told me that there could be changes in the future lease agreement. He asked me about the area of our layout that Women’s Auxiliary Field and Scorebooth reside. He says he notices it isn’t used as much as the other 2 fields and if it was vital to our upcoming season. I was honest with him and said that we use it primarily for girls softball, but as of this moment, it doesn’t look like we will be fielding too many, if any at all, softball teams in 2020. He then informs me that the Fair Board is considering an offer from a catering truck company who wishes to set their catering truck fleet and kitchen on the property. The property they wish to use and renovate will displace Jeff’s paint ball gun facility and leave no place for his business. Would we be willing to “share” the area where WA field is located with the paint ball gun club? He then said that our rent was going to go up, but if we agree to share the area with Jeff, he thinks he can keep our rent price the same by only using the other 2 fields. I told him it may be doable, but that decision would have to be made by our Board of Directors after reviewing the written proposal from the Fair Board. He said, and I quote; “Not to worry. Nothing is set in stone yet. The Fair Board meets in two weeks and then he will know more.” I said that’s fine and to update me after their meeting.
So, you can understand how surprised I was to get a call yesterday afternoon ( Nov. 22 ) from Jeff, asking me if we could meet with him ASAP and walk the area to point out services such as water and electricity because the paintball gun club is moving there. I told him I had just met with Joe and nothing finalized. Jeff told me that he just left a meeting with Mr. Brengle 10
minutes before he called me, and that Joe told him he had no choice other than to move his business onto our Women’s Auxiliary Field site, which has been there in use since 1972. Jeff said he had no choice. I told Jeff we had not agreed to anything yet as far as conceding or sharing the WA area. I agreed to meet with Jeff at 11:00am on Monday, November 25, on Women’s Auxiliary field to further discuss this matter.
It seems to me that the County Fair Board is set on pushing out established community based youth organizations to try and make more money. This property was provided years back to serve as a gathering spot for groups and events put on by local organizations. It wasn’t set up as a source of income for Contra Costa County or anyone else. Antioch Little League (1957), Antioch
Speedway, 4H club and the Skating Rink are just a few of the organizations/businesses that have provided a safe place for fun and education for our young community members for decades. Where does it end?
I would ask my sitting board members or any concerned citizens to please attend Monday’s 11:00am meeting at Women’s Auxiliary field at the Contra Costa County Fairgrounds, or “Event Park” as it has been renamed. Please feel free to contact me directly at (925) 437-3551 with any questions or relative information regarding this letter.
Sincerely,
Scot Pearson
Contra Costa Event Park CEO Brengle Responds
Asked why this was happening, Joe Brengle, CEO of the Contra Costa Event Park (fairgrounds) said, “They are a tenant of ours. They are on a year to year lease. We are taking away one of their three fields which they have not been utilizing for redeveloping the property. We are moving the paintball park there and redeveloping that area into a horse boarding and training facility.”
Asked if the league was getting compensated, he said, “The Women’s Auxiliary didn’t donate that land. They donated money to improve it. That was 50 years ago.”
“The decision was already made by the board,” Brengle continued. “Antioch Little League has refused to sign the agreement for their yearly lease which would have started March 1st, until they have had the opportunity to speak to the board.”
Asked when the decision was made, he responded, “Back in November I met with the Antioch Little League president (Pearson) to let him know what would be happening. I’ve met with him three more times.”
The decision was made at the fair board’s meeting in December 2019. But neither Scot Pearson nor anyone else from the Antioch Little League attended the meeting.
“We’re not taking it away until the end of May at the end of their season,” Brengle explained. “They have some playoff games. The other two fields can accommodate those games.” New Fairgrounds-Antioch Little League lease 2020
When reached for comment, Pearson said, “I did (meet with Joe Brengle). I wrote a letter to (Assemblyman Jim) Frazier the very next day. Then I met with Jeff Warrenburg (owner of the paintball park) about sharing the property with Antioch Paintball, which is what Joe Brengle said we could do.”
Asked why he nor anyone from Antioch Little League were at the board meeting in December when it was decided, he said, “I wasn’t invited and I thought we were going to be able to work things out. Jeff said he didn’t know anything about it.”
“Then, when I got the contract the language changed,” Pearson stated. “The third ballfield will be available…through May 31 at which time it will be redeveloped.”
“When we went in and met with Joe, he already had plans drawn up. This isn’t the board but him pushing this,” he continued.
Asked if they still have time to work things out, since they will still be able to play the season using the third field, Pearson responded, “We usually play games through the end of June. So, that’s not correct.”
“But, the paintball park is not going to be redeveloped into a horse boarding and training facility,” he added. “Instead, it’s going to be used for catering truck parking.”
Asked who told him that, he said, “Joe told me.”
Two of the fields which they keep in their agreement were recently improved by the Antioch Rotary Club. Asked about that, Pearson said they weren’t going to have them improve the field that they might lose.
He mentioned having baseball standouts from Antioch who have agreed to speak at tonight’s meeting.
“We have Butch Rounsaville and Aaron Miles (both former Major League Baseball players) who have agreed to speak, as well as Kenny Turnage,” Pearson shared. “I’m sure the board is going to be surprised. I heard from someone who contacted me that knows people on the board and that is what they told me.”
.”
The Fair Board meeting is at 7:00 p.m. at the Contra Costa Event Park, 1201 W. 10th Street in Antioch. View the meeting agenda, here. Since the item is not on the agenda, those who want to speak on the matter will have to do so during Public Comments.
the attachments to this post:
New Fairgrounds-Antioch Little League lease 2020
ALL announcement & Pearson ltr to Sen Feinstein
Antioch Little League-logo
