RIVERTON, Utah – Several Riverton residents are upset after city officials decided to tear down several popular baseball fields.
Residents said they were promised they would get to vote on the plan a week from Tuesday, but the city started tearing them down last Friday, beginning with a park at 12800 South and 1500 West.
Residents said they felt they still had time to register their objection before the original demolition date of August 15. Reportedly more than 1,700 youth players in the Utah Select Baseball League play on the fields between April and October.
Resident Teveka Melanson doesn’t want the fields to go.
"I found out they were gonna tear out the baseball fields, which was crazy to me cause I personally spend three or four nights here a week,” Melanson said.
Residents have created a Facebook page, where members said they are working to build support so they can approach the city with their comments.
Tegan Melanson said the city shouldn’t have demolished the fields.
"We've loved these fields for a long time, and I'm just very pissed off at the people who tore down the fields,” Tegan said.
Riverton City released a statement in response. They said the facilities demolished are substandard and obsolete, and they are renovating the entire park in the hopes of reopening it in 2015 for the city's 150th anniversary.
The statement indicates the city had made a 30-day cancellation notice part of their lease agreement with the baseball league that uses the fields, as they knew their timetable for construction and demolition could change. They said they gave proper 30-day notice to the league and the league accepted that notice.
