A botched plan to remake Tacoma playfields is a reminder: Never underestimate outrage | Opinion

Sometimes, in the end, the right thing happens.

Oftentimes, it seems, particularly when large public entities are involved, it’s much harder to get there than it should be.

In a nutshell, that’s one way to describe the recent drama surrounding the grass playfields at Stanley Elementary on Hilltop — a saga that helped to illustrate (yet again) what happens when government puts on blinders in pursuit of progress.

Earlier this year, as my News Tribune colleague Liz Moomey reported, Tacoma Public Schools and Metro Parks Tacoma unveiled plans to redevelop the large grass fields — at 1712 S. 17th St., behind the school and the Al Davies Boys & Girls Club — into much-needed baseball and softball facilities for Stadium High School, which currently buses its teams to Northeast Tacoma for practices and home games. The project, which was included in the school construction bond measure approved by Tacoma voters in 2020, also called for the creation of a new park and new playground equipment for Pre-K and K-5 children. In total, the redevelopment was expected to cost just north of $6 million.

Surely, the bureaucrats must have assumed, it would be a significant investment welcomed in an area that’s received far too few of them over the years — which is probably one reason planning for the project began in 2022, a year before much of anything was made available to the general public.

The only trouble?

The Central Tacoma and Hilltop residents that call the neighborhood home wanted nothing to do with it, and all anyone ever had to do was ask. Full of working-class families who have come to view the no-frills grassy expanse as an essential part of their community, word of the planned redevelopment quickly spread house to house and neighbor to neighbor, generating fierce opposition along the way.

The tension reached a crescendo over the course of two public meetings last month when residents had a chance to publicly chastise parks officials for what many considered to be callous indifference to their needs and desires.

For anyone who enjoys seeing decision-makers squirm, it was must-see viewing, according to Wes Davis, a local resident who attended one of the meetings.

“I mean, it’s an old playfield, and there’s not a lot to it,” said Davis, who’s raising four boys with his wife not far from Stanley.

“But it’s our last real, sizable open space,” Davis continued. “It’s like a little oasis. On a sunny day, it’s a real resource.”

Now, here’s the good news:

After widespread community opposition became clear, plans were scrapped — or “reset,” to use the more generous government parlance — with Metro Parks’ director of business administration and planning, Debbie Russell, telling The News Tribune that the initial process “didn’t honor the community.”

More recently, on April 7, Moomey reported that a new location — Peck Sports Complex, a Metro Parks facility at 1425 S. State Street — has been identified for the development of what’s described as “an all-season, multi-sports field for baseball and soccer.” Stadium’s baseball team will eventually call the new facility home, while the Stadium fastpitch team will play at a new field to be built at Hilltop Heritage Middle School.

So what’s the lesson in all this? It’s simple, even if it’s also one that seems to require constant refreshers.

Government process gets a bad name, particularly when local leaders are convinced they’re righteous. But when local public agencies don’t check all the boxes, even the little tedious ones — and they attempt to steamroll major decisions that will affect people’s lives without slowing down to listen — even the best intentions crash and burn, set ablaze by the distrust that’s been sown.

In other words, never put the cart before the horse.

And never, ever underestimate the outrage of people you’ve ignored.

Back on Hilltop, Davis told this week he’s just glad the neighborhood’s voice ultimately prevailed. While he was frustrated and annoyed by the substantial effort it took and the initial lack of transparency, he credited Metro Parks and Tacoma Public Schools for publicly acknowledging the misstep — and, more importantly, having the courage to change course.

Davis is right, of course. Admitting mistakes is never easy, particularly when it’s local government in the wrong. The school district and Metro Parks deserve credit for admitting they blew it.

Still, you would sure think the local leaders would have learned all this by now.

“Hopefully, it was a lesson for them, just in terms of outreach, and it seems like it was,” Davis said.

“If you involve the community from the get-go, you really can find, maybe not a consensus, but a good compromise.