Fancyburg saved, but work on Northam continues
By Alayna Press, ‘17
After pushback from the community, the proposed changes to Fancyburg Park have been withdrawn, but the renovation of Northam Park continues.
Earlier this year, Michael DiBlasi, president of Bear Cub Baseball, proposed the creation of eight new baseball fields at Fancyburg Park as a solution to the lack of space for the growing organization.
However, after about 225 community members voiced their opposition at the Parks and Recreation hearing on May 27, the city withdrew the proposal.
Sophomore Ali Koeneman said turning the open fields of Fancyburg into baseball diamonds would be “completely out of line,” and “[she] grew up going [to Fancyburg] and turning it all into baseball diamonds would just ruin it.”
Northam Park, however, is still being renovated. According to the City of Upper Arlington’s website, components of the park have been degrading over time. The Tremont Pool, for example, was closed after the 2014 season because of structural issues. There are also several drainage issues that cause problems during bad weather.
The renovations at Northam have been in progress since last year. Last year, the public parking lot off Tremont Road was renovated. The next phase of the renovation will be reconfiguration of the park with a multi-use path.