Have your say in Bayview Park’s future
City hosts Sept. 24 meeting on grant application for new fitness space
The City of Key West will hold a public meeting Sept. 24 at 2:30 p.m. at City Hall, 1300 White St., to discuss a grant application for Bayview Park improvements, including a new free outdoor gym and the installation of artificial turf in portions of the park.
A separate grant for the boardwalk trail and a fishing pier at Hamaca Park will also be discussed.
But the meeting offers residents and voters to continue to voice their concern over the installation of fake grass in one of the last green spaces left in Old Town with city management and leaders.
Proponents of the turf project — which is also being expanded to the Coffee Butler Amphitheater using Tourism Development dollars — say the plastic imitation grass reduces the need for groundskeepers and ongoing maintenance.
But in a recent Facebook post, community activist Arlo Haskell criticized the turf installation which was already underway.
“When you grow up in the Keys, you go a little numb to seeing beautiful places you loved getting paved over,” wrote Haskell. “It’s the last natural grass-and-clay ballfield in Key West—a public space for public good. A community of players and neighbors who used it and loved it for what it was tried to save it. The Parks & Rec Board tried to save it, too.
“But City of Key West leadership was determined to take it away from the neighbors, overrule an advisory board, and turn the Bayview Ballfield into something no one was asking for… Instead of making improvements the neighbors wanted, they gave $1 million to the Astroturf Corporation to rip out all that grass and, soon, replace it with plastic. Lots of bad things happen because of citizen inaction or private greed.
“Not this one.
“This was a power play by small-minded city leaders desperate to chalk up an ‘accomplishment’ and determined to show that they don’t care what the public wants.”
Key West resident and concerned environmental activist Cricket Desmarais addressed city leaders about the turf installation in an open letter — which fell on deaf ears.
“I respectfully urge you to rescind or amend the recently approved contract for artificial turf installation at Bayview Park—a project that undermines both public and environmental health…” she wrote.
“Synthetic turf can reach 40–100°F hotter than natural grass, creating hazardous play conditions for children and pets… After heavy rains, turf can trap standing water that will become hot, stagnant, and laden with bacteria… Bayview Park deserves a solution that functions as both a community gathering space and a green filter for the island’s stormwater.”
The meeting is open to the public and will take place in the Commission Chambers.
Bayview Park: By the Numbers
Location: Central Key West
Facilities
Basketball courts
Five public tennis courts and pro shop
Pepe Hernandez softball field
Pavilion and picnic areas
Playground
Six restrooms
Youth Programs
Boys & Girls Youth Club: summer and after-school programs
250 players in co-ed softball leagues, Monday–Thursday year-round
Ultimate Frisbee, kickball, and annual tournaments
In the Spotlight
City installing artificial turf in portions of Bayview Park in opposition to public views
Environmental concerns over heat, bacteria, microplastics, and stormwater runoff
City pursuing grant for new outdoor fitness gym as part of redevelopment