EAST PROVIDENCE — The public comment portion of the February 4 meeting of the City Council and most of the gathering overall as well was dominated by the ongoing deliberations of how to approach refurbishing the Grassy Plains playground in Riverside.

Late last year as part of the Capital Improvements section of the Fiscal Year 2019-2020 budget, the administration of Mayor Bob DaSilva proposed applying for a Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management grant, which included an upgraded soccer field as part of the overall plan to fix what all agree is the dilapidated park.

According to the description provided by the Planning Department in the FY19-20 budget, the anticipated cost of remedying the 45-year-old park, including the soccer field at Grassy Plains, would be $300,000. The grant, if awarded, would fund half or $150,000 of the total. A $150,000 match on the part of the city would be necessary. It was requested in the current Capital budget and it was approved by the Council during the last fiscal year debate.

The RIDEM grant program specific to the project, Large Recreation Development, backs cities and towns in the acquisition, development and renovation of outdoor recreational lands and facilities. “The development of additional soccer fields has been identified as a high priority in the city,” was the statement on the proposal included in the Planning Department notes.

The initial response to the proposal was mostly negative, in public at least. Residents nearby who live on Tanglewood Drive, Estrelle Drive and Glenn Avenue expressed their displeasure during a previous discussion on the subject at the Council’s December 17, 2019 forum.

Those who spoke that night wanted Grassy Plains to once again become a neighborhood gathering place, but balked at it potentially being used for larger-scale, more frequent soccer events. They cited the narrow roads surrounding the park and the potential of increased traffic on them, the close proximity of their homes abutting the location and the lack of on-site parking as among the reasons for their opposition.

Ward 4 Councilor Ricardo Mourato, in whose district the park is located, subsequently held a community meeting on January 23 of this year to further discuss the issue, where according to him as well as those in attendance sentiments remained the same. Though most residents were committed to seeing Grassy Plains renovated, they maintained their stance against the soccer field aspect.

Of the 20 or so people who signed up to comment on the topic last week, about a dozen actually spoke. And while just about all again stated their reservations of the proposal, two took Mr. Mourato to task over how they perceived was his approach to the effort. They charged Mr. Mourato didn’t properly inform residents about his community meeting and was using the matter as a political tool in a personal conflict with Mayor DaSilva rather than focusing on gaining the necessary financing to improve the park.

After public comment, during which councilors have traditionally been advised not to respond by the solicitor’s office, Mr. Mourato defended his actions, saying he was simply reacting to the concerns of his constituents and not engaging in pure politics. He said he attempted to notify as many residents as he could about his community meeting through various means and also noted Mayor DaSilva urged “soccer parents” to attend.

“Unfortunately or fortunately, the people that are most directly affected are those that showed. I can’t control that. It wasn’t a personal attack on the mayor,” Mr. Mourato said. “I got elected by the residents of Ward 4. Those are the people I respond to first.”

Mr. Mourato later suggested possibly removing the soccer field component from the RIDEM grant application. And even if the city does not receive the state monies, the Council could earmark either existing resources in the same amount, $150,000, from the FY19-20 Capital Improvement budget or future fiscal year dollars to the Grassy Plains renovation movement.

Council President and Ward 1 member Bobby Britto backed that notion. He said, “Despite whatever happens to the application that we put through to DEM, that through the next budget hearing, the Capital Improvement, we can allocate another $150,000 to match. So, if DEM doesn’t, then we can do it in the city. And we can have a matching grant for $300,000 right there. Whether or not that’s the amount we need, I’m not exactly sure. However, we as a Council could take action on this. We already allocated $150,000 and we can certainly allocate another $150,000 going forward.”

Asked to comment on the subject, City Planning and Economic Development Director Bill Fazioli said if the soccer field element of the grant proposal was lifted, it was likely RIDEM would remove the application from consideration.

He also said the city needed to take a broader view of the situation with available recreational space, rather than just focusing on one specific area.

He told the audience last week from just March to November of last year, 2,190 permits were requested for use of the city’s 14 fields. He said, “We don’t have enough fields to meet the demands.”

Mr. Fazioli continued, noting just about all of the existing parks are located “in dense neighborhoods. They all have traffic. They all have people.” And that upon submission of the Grassy Plains grant application, “it was never the intent to hold tournaments” there once it was completed.

As well during the discussion, Mike Resendes, president of the East Providence Youth Soccer Association, spoke to denounce rumors about his organization being promoted on social media. He said, “it is not our intention at all,” in response to a suggestion EPYSA was seeking to build a “soccer complex” at Grassy Plains.

He also referred to Mayor DaSilva’s past participation with the group as its former president. To that, Mr. Resendes said, the mayor is “no longer there… he doesn’t calls the shots.”

Mr. Resendes used his remarks, like Mr. Fazioli, to comment on the state of parks in general across the city. He said, “We have the space” needed to run the EPYSA programs, adding, “The issue we have is the fields are just not maintained. They’re not maintained to the level that we need them.”

At the conclusion of the discussion, At-Large Councilor Bob Rodericks said he would not allow sports groups, adults or neighborhoods to be “pitted against each other.” He also acknowledged, “we as a community let that go” as it pertained to the lack of investment at Grassy Plains over the years while agreeing the park needed to be rehabilitated.

“We’re going to find a solution. We’re not going to build a complex at Grassy Plains, but we’re certainly going to restore it,” Mr. Rodericks added.