How can you help? City Council Contacts. Council contacts: District 1 Connie Risch 305 Canyon Parkway (765)

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1 How can you help? 1. Contact your district council person and the at-large councilmen 2. Contact the Mayor's office 3. Share the Foundation's Facebook posts 4. Come to the City Council meeting on September 8th at 7 p.m. to voice your support 5. Write a letter to the editor 6. Tell your friends to voice their support City Council Contacts Council contacts: District 1 Connie Risch 305 Canyon Parkway (765) connie.risch14@gmail.com District 2 Gary Weber 123 Locust Drive (765) or (765) wbrgry@aol.com Council at Large Fran Chomel 1029 W. 3rd St. (765) fchomel@frontier.com District 3 Debbie Montgomery 1522 N. Grand Avenue (765) District 4 Tom Creech 1705 Grand Avenue (765) transferstation@localnet.com District 5 Ruby Siler Council at Large Gabe Nobbe 1216 E. 5th Street (765) gnobbe114@msn.com

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3 TIMELINE - 18 months, September March 2017 Phase 1: Purchase: September 2015 Phase 2: Site Development: October August 2016 Phase 3: Construction: September February 2017: Grand Opening March 2017 Phase 4: Management: March Future What's the urgency? We would like to begin by highlighting the reasons why a vote to purchase this property cannot be delayed until the next Council meeting or the next administration. Deal hinges on a private seller who may have other opportunity to sell his property BNT grant deadline is Oct. 28; if the Foundation does not submit proof the land has been purchased the grant will be revoked If the BNT grant is lost, so is the possibility of moving forward with the County's first public canoe launch Timing for potential grant funding requires land be secure. Our biggest potential grant funders, Major League Baseball and the Cincinnati Community Fund, both have application deadlines in January This would be the only Complex of its kind in our region. We have an opportunity to provide a resource not available in any surrounding county. If we delay another County could move forward first limiting our unique leverage for grant funding.

4 Phase 1: Purchase Approximately 50 acres would be purchased from Randy and Pam Stoops of 901 Vine Street Connersville. The proposed purchase price is $325,000. The area outlined in yellow below shows the land that would encompass. The area outlined in red is our current soccer complex. Included within the 50 acre purchase is approximately 16 acres of mostly wooded land (outlined in green). These 16 acres would be funded through the Bicentennial Nature Trust (BNT) Grant already secured by the Foundation. The BNT grant of $14,700 will be matched 100% by the Foundation for a total of $29,400. Making the total needed from the City's remediation fund $295,600. The Foundation was made aware of its award from the BNT on July 28. The Foundation has 90 days to secure the rest of the proposed purchase which will end on October 28. If the Foundation does not provide the BNT with the information it has requested by October 28 the BNT will revoke the grant. The 16 acres will serve as passive recreational space for nature trails, picnicking, bird watching, and a canoe launch. The canoe launch is particularly exciting as it would be Fayette County's first and only public canoe launch providing access to the West Fork of the White River. Anna Dungan and Darrell Drew met with the DNR Public Access Program Manager Bill Seegers in April to discuss the launch site. Mr. Seegers was confident that a launch would be viable on the south end of the property. Per the DNR's schedule, development could begin as soon as 2017 to complete this project. This would include the DNR paying to develop a driveway down the bank and gravel parking lot at no cost to the City.

5 At completion, as shown below, the new sports complex would make a horseshoe around Duke Energy. Ron Coldiron has successfully negotiated the proposed purchase price of $325,000. The land appraises for $600,000. The appraisals were completed by Matt Nepote, MAI from Richmond as well as Bradley Dwenger, SRA from Richmond to ensure unbiased appraisals. Both appraisals were paid for by the City. As part of the purchase agreement the Stoops have requested that a buffer of trees be planted on the east side of the Complex property line and that the parking lot on the northeast side of the current soccer complex be returned to them to square up the properties. The City's $295,600 contribution could be paid from its remediation fund. Questions have been raised as to whether this project falls within the legal guidelines of the remediation fund. City Attorney Jon Baker has issued this letter to ensure that it does (see next page).

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7 Doubts have also been raised as to how many people will use the sports complex. Below is a graph of current usage. It can only be anticipated that use will increase with the draw of a new facility from local and nonlocal patrons. Connersville Parks & Recreation Field Use Calendar January February March April May June July August September October November December T-Ball Babe Ruth Softball (10 & under) Softball Machine Pitch Softball (11-18) Co-Ed Softball Church League Softball Co-Ed Kickball Kids Kickball Soccer Adult Soccer Travel Soccer Flag Football Participation Numbers T-Ball Kickball 3-4 year olds 110 Co-Ed year olds 120 Kids 150 Babe Ruth Soccer 6-15 year olds Spring 330 Fall 330 Softball Adult & Under 120 Travel 100 Machine Pitch & Under & Under 40 Co-Ed Flag Football Church League Other Questions: Why don't we use the remediation fund to build a levee at the current ball field? This idea has been considered and researched. A levee cannot be built because the DNR has reviewed the site and will not allow disruption of the natural flow of the river bottom in the flood plain. The City cannot violate the DNR's ruling in this matter. Why don't we utilize Offett's Park or the horse track to build diamonds? Offett's park is a residential area with limited infrastructure for more than one field or adequate parking. In 2001 baseball diamonds were removed from the horse track because it is also in a flood plain and the infrastructure is not there for adequate parking and it caused too much disruption to the track which is meant for horses.

8 Phase 2: Site Development Projected Budget Projected Expenses Potential Income Land Purchase $ 325, Foundation $ 14, Insurace 2016 $ Bicentennial Trust $ 14, Site Development (Prince Alexander) $ 30, Crop Earnings $ 5, Senior Field (reusing bleachers & scoreboard) $ 13, City/Remediation Fund $ 295, Senior Field (new material) $ 50, Multi Purpose Fields (see breakout below) $ 64, Scoreboard for multi purpose field $ 3, Paving $ 80, Concession Stand $ 50, Small Concession Stand $ 30, Fencing (see breakout below) $ 5, TOTAL $ 330, Lighting (projected to be much lower once we determine what can be reused) $ 90, Landscaping TBD $ - Sidewalks TBD $ - Dugout Pads TBD $ - TOTAL $ 742, Funds to be raised (grants/corporate/individual) $ 412, Fencing Breakout Fence $ 2, Posts $ 1, Caps $ Top Rail $ ft. Gate $ ft. Gate $ ft. Section $ Posts for Dugout Section $ Corner Pieces for Fence Connection $ TOTAL $ 5, Multi Purpose Field Breakout Backstop $ 3, Bases $ Bat Rack $ Foul Polls $ 1, Green Wind Break $ Yellow Cap $ Pitcher's Mound $ Brick Dust $ 2, Bleachers $ 8, Netting over the back stop $ Distance markers $ TOTAL $ 16,215.00

9 This budget is based on vendor estimates, costs gleaned from other cities, and costs provided from our current facility. There are many items, such as lights, that we may be able to reuse that will bring costs down, but more investigation is needed. There are other items that we are certain that can be reused such as bleachers and scoreboards. At this point the principle firm being considered for site development is Prince Alexander out of Indianapolis and owned by Steve Alexander. Prince Alexander is a full service architecture, engineering, project management, and land planning firm with diverse experience in projects ranging from hospitals, government facilities, and emergency management facilities, to churches, community centers, educational facilities and banks. Steve designed the FCF building renovation in 2002 and has a longstanding relationship with FCF. Steve helped the FCF with the City parking lot landscape and has most recently been successful to begin renovating the Pattern Building into a senior living center. Steve has proven his vested interest in our community. We have researched and visited fields in Westfield and Shelbyville as a basis for what we'd like to accomplish in ours. Features and benefits include: 1. Not in a floodplain 2. No annual clean costs from flooding parking spaces 4. River walk 5. Canoe launch 6. Nature preserve 7. Revenue generating 8. Aesthetically pleasing 9. Less maintenance 10. City pride 11. Youth recreation 12. Investment in our youth / positive 13. Funds are readily available Other Questions: Will transportation be an issue? A Sports Complex cannot be expected to solve the City's transportation issue. It would have to be assumed that the 700+ kids who currently use our baseball and soccer fields would find transportation as they do now. Combining the fields into one facility would certainly make transportation easier on families whose children play both sports or have multiple games on one day. How are you going to raise more money? This project has the support of some of the most influential local fundraisers who plan to seek funding from corporations and individuals. There a plethora of grant opportunities available including Major League Baseball, Cincinnati Reds Community Fund, Batter Up, and Livestrong that primarily fund newly constructed complexes such as the proposed. Monies from the remediation fund could be utilized as matching funds for grant opportunities.

10 Phase 3: Construction The entire complex would be built at one time beginning in September 2016 and a projected completion date of March If selected, Prince Alexander would be the lead construction consultant and could hire local contractors as needed. In summer 2016 play will continue as usual and the 30 farmable acres will be cash rented to Mike Pfeiffer who has cash rented from the Stoops for many years and is interested in continuing in This will be outlined in the purchase agreement as well to guarantee his involvement. Randy Stoops said that $180/acre is an average price. The vacated field will be restored/reclaimed and managed by the Utilities department. The land will be owned by the City and will be returned to a field/wetland. Phase 4: Management A Park Board would need to be established to manage the Sports Complex that would utilize a capital improvement fund to ensure the Complex's future success. Other communities Park's that run their sports facilities include Crawfordsville, Plainfield, and Shelbyville. Anna Dungan and Darrell Drew met with Shelbyville Parks and Recreation Director Karen Martin to discuss the pros and cons of how Blue River was constructed. Guidance from Martin and other colleagues could be used as a model for the Complex. Martin stated that Blue River began when the city council agreed to purchase the land. After the land was acquired she was able to secure more than $400,000 in federal grant funding. The Board would be responsible to schedule tournaments to begin generating revenue from the Complex itself and in turn for our restaurants and hotels. From our preliminary research, we believe a conservative estimate is to assume at least 40 people per team, including the team members, coaches, one parent and sibling per player. Most tournaments host at least six teams, which equals 240 people each tournament. At $10 per car, gate entry fees would generate $2,400. If each person spends $5 at the concession stand, that's another $1,200. That's $3,600 per tournament. If we were to host only 12 tournaments per summer, that's $43,200 each summer.