1. The picture from the next line is the current master plan for McIntire Park and the YMCA. This plan has been voted on and approved by C'ville City Council. It has the force of law. Notice that the softball fields are gone.

2. The link on the next line is the story from Charlottesville Tomorrow. In it David Brown blocked the attempt to change the current master plan to retain the softball fields.

Bob Fenwick introduced the first copies of 'McIntire The Fox' a children's short story to be used as a fund raiser for our efforts. More on this later! Or visit www.McIntireTheFox.com

How have we forgotten Paul Goodloe McIntire and what he means to Charlottesville? The following resolution was passed by the Charlottesville City Council on May 28, 1942.

WHEREAS it is fitting that this body, as the representatives of the people of the City, should make public expression of their gratitude to Mr. McIntire, and by public proclamation call upon the citizens to recognize their indebtedness to him; Now Therefore, BE IT RESOLVED by the Council of the City of Charlottesville that the 28th day of May, the anniversary of the birth of Mr. McIntire, be and it is hereby designated as "McIntire Day", to be observed throughout the City of Charlottesville as a special day for the expression of the profound feeling of good will and gratitude which Charlottesville and all of its citizens hold for Mr. McIntire.

Found by Daniel Bluestone

Shortly after finding this Daniel Bluestone attended a City Council meeting and attempted to have them reinstate Paul McIntire Day. He was ignored by all but Holly Edwards.

So what can we do? We can strongly and persistently demand the softball fields stay right where they are. We can say over and over that McIntire Park was 'given to the citizens in perpetuity as a park and a playground'. Perpetuity seems to have arrived a little early! And we can say over and over that the softball players, families and friends from all across the working spectrum and from churches and businesses were not given even the minimal notice that this taking was being planned. And that's a fact! The people to contact are the mayor and city councilors of Charlottesville. I will put links up to help.

Mayor Dave Norris 1409 Early St. C'ville 22902 phone 220-1095 email cvilledave@hotmail.com

Kristin Szakos e-mail

David Brown 1534 Rugby Ave. C'ville 22903 phone 293 - 3800 (w), 971 - 3537 email dbrowndc@gmail.com

Holly Edwards 917 6th St., SE C'ville 22902 phone 977 - 2969 email hollye@charlottesville.org

Satyendra Huja 1502 Holly Road C'ville 22901 phone 977 - 5094 email huja1@comcast.net

Or you can leave your opinion with the Clerk of Council Box 911 City Hall C'ville, VA 22902 phone 970 - 3113 email council@charlottesville.org

And, of course, the Chairman of the Board of the YMCA, Kurt Krueger, who now has a lease in his pocket for 5.2 acres of the best part of McIntire Park - a park that was given to us, the citizens of Charlottesville. And, as everybody knows, this lease is NOT for 40 years. It is for ever! kkrueger@McGuireWoods.com

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." Margaret Mead

"Those who profess to favor freedom and yet depreciate agitation are people who want crops without plowing the ground; they want rain without thunder and lightning; they want the ocean without the roar of its many waters. The struggle may be a moral one, or it may be a physical one, or it may be both. But it must be a struggle. Power concedes nothing without a demand; it never has and it never will." Frederick Douglass

This is the location in McIntire Park where the YMCA will go, looking southwest towards one of the Lions Club picnic shelters. In the Daily Progress article above, Denny Blank, CEO of the Piedmont YMCA, said this spot is 'practically unusable as it is.' On a radio program Mr. Blank characterizes this spot as 'a ravine'. I guess Mr. Blank has no idea of the thousands of Charlottesville citizens who 'use' these picnic shelters every year, all through the year. I wish these people would think before they spoke! This kind of justification for giving away over 5 acres of parkland is why I state on this website that the vote to grant the ground lease was no more than a whim on the part of 3 city councilors.

AND NOW THEY WANT TO TAKE THE WADING POOL! WHAT ARE THEY THINKING? I've heard the City Council says those of us who want to save the wading pool feel this way out of NOSTALGIA. What do children as young as 2 years old know of nostalgia?

UPDATE: The community exploded and the City Council backed off their plan to close the wading pool for this year and then had the nerve to congratulate themselves for 'listening to the people'. They will wait until after the elections to close it for good.

And this is the last year that the Dogwood Festival Carnival, etc. will be in McIntire Park. Dave Norris wanted to kick them out this year but the organizers raised so much commotion he let them stay this year. This whole business is so unbelievable it's bizarre! Those aren't my words. Those are almost uniformly the words of the citizens who are now standing up against this foolishness.

TO HELP IN THIS EFFORT PLEASE CONTACT BOB FENWICK, 296 - 6130, EMAIL bfenwick@mindspring.com SHOOT ME AN EMAIL FOR A BUMPER STICKER!

There seems to be a sentiment in certain quarters that we are blaming the YMCA for the loss of the softball fields and the dismemberment of McIntire Park. This is incorrect. The fomer Charlottesville mayor and two city councilors are responsible, David Brown, Kevin Lynch and Dave Norris. More on this below. But the fact remains that the YMCA, in its zeal to build a 'world class facility', displaced the two existing softball fields and puts at risk the most successful and profitable (to the city) adult and youth (girls' tournament fast pitch) recreational program in Central Virginia. Would Kurt Krueger and city hall be ashamed of a mere 'Charlottesville class facility'? I wouldn't be!

January 2009 Update: McIntire fields will stay for 2009. Kurt Krueger has submitted a revised plan for a smaller building for the time being. He also said it is a plan that can (will) be expanded. That means as soon as we quiet down it will be back to the original plan. At that point the softball fields will be gone. We will continue our efforts. It is also somewhat interesting that, after complaining bitterly that we were unfairly labeling the YMCA as responsible for the loss of the fields, the mayor and Kurt Krueger released a press statement that said the YMCA was downsizing therefore the fields will stay! Are the two connected or not?

A committee has been formed to plan, coordinate and act against the taking of McIntire Park. The McIntire Park Preservation Committee is comprised of Randy Page, Clara Belle Wheeler and Bob Fenwick. This committee has a standing offer to City Hall to serve on any committee working to place the YMCA in a location other than McIntire Park.

Since we haven't been contacted for participation in finding other sites I will list several that have come to me.

1) The City Yard. Clara Belle Wheeler suggested this site. As it stands it represents a considerable public health hazard. We could kill two birds with one stone, actually four. Move the workers off a health hazard site to a healthier city yard built to modern standards, clean up the site with stimulus money, locate the YMCA there much closer to downtown and Save McIntire Park.

2) Build the YMCA on the old Lane High School parking lot, once again much closer to the downtown core. This probably won't fly because it is county property and the County Board of Supervisors doesn't give a hoot about chopping up McIntire Park. This is also CBW's idea.

3) The city recently commissioned a study of the school system which recommended closing down one school. Use this site for the YMCA. This was an idea from a concerned citizen.

6) There is a beautiful corner lot at the confluence of Cherry Ave., 9th St. and Roosevelt Brown Blvd. Right across from the barbecue place. This location provides an ideal spot for at least a half dozen reasons. Idea of a smart man.

For notes on the Committee's appearance on the Rob Schilling Show click on link below.

There is no softballer I know who does not support The YMCA and its goal of providing recreational services to underprivileged youth. What we oppose is the dismemberment of McIntire Park, a free and open city park, as the location for a 70,000+ sq. ft. facility when there are better places to locate the facility. In the future there will be many, many buildings, large and small, built in Charlottesville. There will never be another open and natural park the size of McIntire created!

There has been a recurring theme from City Hall from the beginning of this website. The opposition to leasing over five acres of public park land in McIntire Park and building a 'world class facility' on the vacant land is spreading 'mistruths' and 'inaccurate information' that is designed to '....enrage readers into action.....'. So, in the spirit of presenting both sides, dismembering McIntire Park and preserving McIntire Park, I present a letter submitted to our local newspaper that was not printed. I will then present my side immediately after. Please click on the link directly below. The letter was written by Mike Farruggio, member of the City Planning Commission, who supports dismembering McIntire Park. After you have read both sides you tell me who is spreading 'mistruths' and 'inaccurate information.'

You don't have to be a city resident to voice your opinion or support us. The city councilors forgot that every purchase in the city, even purchases by rascally county players, has an added sales tax. Actually, they didn't forget....they just didn't care. 3 men wanted the YMCA in McIntire so 3 men voted for it. Softball is not something the city gives us for free (or for our taxes more correctly). Each participating team pays $700 for the spring - summer season, 16 games, each tournament team pays a fee, each church team pays a fee, each fast pitch girls' team pays a fee, each business or civic organization (except for the Democrats and Republicans) pays a fee, etc, etc. EVERYONE who uses the McIntire fields pays for it. We are not subsidized by anyone. The Charlottesville taxpayer doesn't pay a penny to subsidize softball.

SOFTBALL IS THE MOST POPULAR PARTICIPANT SPORT IN THE UNITED STATES. IT IS ESTIMATED THAT 25 MILLION PEOPLE PLAY REGULARLY AND 56 MILLION PLAY AT LEAST ONE GAME DURING THE YEAR. OVER 240,000 TEAMS WERE REGISTERED WITH THE AMATEUR SOFTBALL ASSOCIATION IN 2006. www.angelfire.com/sd/slopitch/history.html

GOING BACKWARDS IS NOT ALWAYS A BAD THING....ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU REALIZE YOU'VE TAKEN THE WRONG TURN!

CLICK ON THE NEXT LINK TO FOLLOW THE RECENT COMMUNICATIONS FROM KURT KRUEGER, ESQ. PARTNER IN MCGUIRE, WOODS LLP AND CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD OF THE YMCA TO BOB FENWICK.

We're circulating petitions. From the response easily over 99% of citizens in this community oppose bulldozing the McIntire Park softball fields. If you don't get one of ours you can start your own and we'll pick it up.

THIS SITE IS UNDER CONSTRUCTION. And will remain under construction until I run out of money.

This website will unravel the incomprehensible decision by 3 City Councilors to donate, virtually free, more than 5 acres of public parkland to a private organization based on CONSTANTLY CHANGING AND INFLATING financial figures presented not by an economist but by the then Parks and Recreation Department Director and the deliberate effort to prevent the notification of the largest group of interested citizens leading up to the 3 - 2 vote for the land lease which supposedly sealed the deal.

The city entered into a 40 year lease with the YMCA for over 5 acres of prime public parkland for $1 per year when they knew full well and discussed in open city council session that the land was worth much more than that and the city was getting the benefit of much more than that since the council considered the actual value of the land ($2.8 million?) as the city's offset to the county's contribution of close to a million and a half dollars. Shamful!

On December 17, 2007 the mayor and city council voted as follows on the ground lease for the YMCA, the action that sealed the fate of the McIntire fields:

This vote followed an earlier vote which was 3 - 2 AGAINST the ground lease with Kevin Lynch being the swing vote. When Mike Svetz, Director of Parks and Rec, says there was sufficient notification of the taking of public park land he is artfully parsing his words. There was notification but only AFTER the ground lease votes had been taken. Prior to those votes the softball community which comprises tens of thousands of players, families and spectators NEVER were sought out for input even while other interested parties were. An analogy might be deciding to roll a boulder down a hill. The thousands and thousands in the softball community were not asked about whether to let the boulder roll down the hill. But after it got started we were invited to watch! I was somewhat taken aback by a comment in a local paper to the effect that softballers must have been informed because it is hard to believe that they weren't. Upon reflection I realized that is exactly how many of us felt......it was just hard to believe this was happening with public park land and without our input.

To understand the reasoning behind donating over 5 acres of heavily used public parkland to a private organization is a futile exercise. It is beyond comprehension how three public servants can give public land to a private organization. The only conclusion the thousands of players, families and friends come to is the councilors voting to destroy the McIntire fields had no earthly idea of what goes on there, who plays there, when and how often they play there, etc. So as a public service I videotaped a week's worth of activities at the McIntire fields. THIS SERVICE IS ONLY FOR THE CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS since the rest of us know very well how much goes on there. As an added bonus, since they obviously have never gone to any of the activities on these fields, including the annual Democratic and Republican fundraising game, I will throw in a MapQuest link with driving directions from City Hall to McIntire Park. (I know they've never been to a Dem/Repub game because as a recovering softball addict I have pitched for both sides and have never seen one of them.)

UPDATE: I have been informed by a long time female softballer that David Brown, mayor when the ground lease vote was taken, HAS played in the Dem/Repub charity game, which makes his vote to bulldoze the fields even more peculiar. I will take her word for it.

I will put up one day's activities at a time for two or three days and then put up the following day until I have covered the full week.

UPDATE: Since this site is averaging over 200 hits per day I have rebooted my plans. The video file of the 10 day McIntire activity clip is over 326 megs or about 35 minutes of viewing time. It wouldn't take many clicks to blow my server so I will deliver the file in DVD format to the city councilors and mayor. I have been counseled that including a Mapquest link to McIntire Park is unnecessarily provocative. Of course the mayor and city councilors know where McIntire is......they are just blind to what goes on there......and they have no idea how upset and angry people are about this. And, of course, the rest of us already know of the league play and the local, regional and national tournaments that come here.

On September 8, 2008, I delivered to the city council, the mayor and Mike Svetz individual DVDs with highlights of a typical week plus usage of the McIntire fields. Included were men's league, women's league, co-rec league, fast pitch girls' league and an annual tournament benefitting medically needy children and sponsored by the Virginia Loggers Association. Present mayor Dave Norris and councilor David Brown have been hung up on the fact that only 20% of the players are city residents but every player in every sanctioned game throughout the year is a paying player. Every player or the sponsor for that player reaches into his or her pocket and pays the city to play. Recreational softball is not an activity that city taxpayers subsidize. It returns revenue to the city. And I've never heard of city residents causing any particular heartburn for the county when they play at Towe or PVCC or when teams go to outlying counties to play. This figure also does not include the families, friends, general public who watch the city league games nor does it include, church league, UVA club teams, local businesses, local social organizations, charity tournaments, girls' fast pitch tournaments, ASA, USSA and Softball Nation tournaments, etc. This participation figure is deliberately understated and provides a disingenuous argument to support the dismantling of McIntire Park, I guess because it presents a picture of vacant land just waiting for development.

The video clips I delivered to the mayor, the city council and Director of Parks and Rec, Mike Svetz, are now being uploaded to You Tube so you can see what I sent them. It will be no big surprise to you what's in them. It WILL be a big surprise to them.

IT'S NOT JUST THE ADULT PROGRAMS THAT WILL BE ADVERSELY AFFECTED BY THE DESTRUCTION OF MCINTIRE FIELDS!

Many citizens come to the local fields just to sit in the bleachers and watch the games and enjoy the outdoors and for most of them the city and county leagues are the big draw but if you really enjoy seeing young athletes compete and enjoy a community / family atmosphere come out and see the girls' fast pitch tournaments. Anne Powell has worked hard to establish one of the finest programs in the state and just when the years of hard work are showing such great results the girls are faced with having their program turned inside out. And if you think I'm exaggerating about the quality of the program and the competition and the spirit of these girls just come out to one of their tournaments. You'll particularly enjoy the cheerleading the youngsters do from the dugout. Click on the Redbirds link for more info and The Hook link for the latest report.

Here are some photos of girls playing softball at McIntire submitted by Anne Powell. The trophy picture is her Redbirds team.

We will hear over and over from the city council how the softballers and peripheral users of McIntire fields had plenty of notice and just didn't care enough to speak up......no matter how many people tell them differently. I will put up the leaders of Softball Army. These men and women are the backbone of the different leagues and tournaments and have been for years. If anybody should have been contacted as 'stakeholders' these are they. Click on the name!

This whole business of putting the YMCA on land given to the city by Paul Goodloe McIntire "to be held and used in perpetuity by the said City for a public park and playground for the ..... people of the City of Charlottesville." has been ineptly planned and surreptitiously implemented. If you doubt that insufficient notice was given to the softball community let me rephrase that. NO NOTICE WAS GIVEN TO THE TENS OF THOUSANDS OF THE SOFTBALL COMMUNITY PRIOR TO THE INITIAL GROUND LEASE VOTE. Once the initial vote was taken we have since been flooded with notices about 'stakeholder' meetings, lighting at Towe Park, etc. by email and printed notices mailed with schedules. Ask any coach or player at any field at any time if they knew what was in the works. When the city says there has been plenty of citizen input - on its face that is a correct statement but purposefully skirts the question of when and to whom. PRIOR TO THE 3 - 2 VOTE IN LATE 2007 THERE WAS NO ATTEMPT TO GET MEANINGFUL INPUT FROM THE SOFTBALL COMMUNITY.....NONE, NADA, ZIP! And by that time the city had been engaged in discussions with all the other interested parties who stood to benefit from getting free McIntire Park land, parties whose total participation in McIntire activities was probably around 3% of the number of softballers.

Mayor Dave Norris 1409 Early St. C'ville 22902 phone 220-1095 email cvilledave@hotmail.com

David Brown 1534 Rugby Ave. C'ville 22903 phone 293 - 3800 (w), 971 - 3537 email dbrowndc@gmail.com

Satyendra Huja 1502 Holly Road C'ville 22901 phone 977 - 5094 email huja1@comcast.net

I HAVE ADDED CONTACT INFO FOR THE CITY MANAGER SINCE IT APPEARS HE IS A LEADING ADVOCATE FOR SELLING OFF MCINTIRE PARK. LET HIM KNOW WHAT YOU THINK!

Or you can leave your opinion with the Clerk of Council Box 911 City Hall C'ville, VA 22902 phone 970 - 3113 email council@charlottesville.org

The County of Albemarle, through the Board of Supervisors, is enabling the city through a Use Agreement to dismember McIntire Park. Their contact information is as follows:

So now we are in the bottom of the seventh, down by 3, bases loaded with two outs and a full count and each one of us is at bat. Each one of us has to 'bring it' and quickly if we want to make anything happen. We all know the game we love, whether slow pitch or fast pitch, is a TEAM game and if one of us falters the other team members will take up the slack. And the softballers I know are a hardy bunch, from the veterans to the rookies. The citizens in our community who participate, the families and friends who come with the players and the general public who sit in the bleachers and watch are as representative of our community as any other group....from city hall to mall businesses to hospital workers, to clerks, every imaginable profession and, yes, even professional workers (I've had a doctor and several lawyers on my teams). The City Council will ignore online petitions, emails (trust me I know this for a fact and so do some of you) so that leaves phone calls, stopping them on the street, letters, etc. If we start to get their attention you will hear things like 'it's too late, leases have been signed, promises have been made, too much time has been invested in this to stop it now'. If I hear one more time "It's a done deal" I'm going to get a little sideways. The mayor and city council made this mistake. It's up to them to fix the mistake. It's our job to give them a strong nudge. We all know if they pass a resolution or an ordnance they can rescind a resolution or ordnance. If they sign a lease, they can rescind a lease. But then what do we know? We're just ordinary taxpaying citizens and this $40 for 5+ acres of McIntire Park, a whiz bang of a deal if I ever heard of one, is a little beyond our ability to comprehend and appreciate. The mayor and city councilors will do what they want. The task is to make them do what WE THE CITIZENS, who work and pay taxes, and enjoy the legacy that past citizens have given us, (a legacy that we should pass on to future generations), want them to do. The train has not yet left the station. Do you see any bulldozers at McIntire?

They have made one of the biggest mistakes a City Council has made, literally, in generations with terrible implications for the dwindling McIntire Park with the precedent of giving away public park land to a private organization. What are The Senior Center, The Salvation Army, Habitat for Humanity, Hospice of the Piedmont, Arc of the Piedmont or any of the dozens of other worthwhile service organizations going to do when looking for a new location and building? They have all found ways to relocate without getting free public park land from the City Council. The City Council has this democratic government thing exactly backwards. They think they can deliberately shut out the participants who are most fundamentally affected in the most successful recreation program in Virginia, make back room deals and then inform us of their decision. I think it is ALL the citizens who decide what they want and then tell the City Council to implement it. Who's correct? So far they are....but we still have one pitch coming. Do we stand there with the bat on our shoulder or do we keep our eye on the ball, swing hard, stay back on the pitch and drive it?

A PETITION FORM WILL SHORTLY BE POSTED ON THIS SITE. We are getting signatures. If we miss you please print out the form below and have your team and any other 'stakeholder' sign it. Thanks.

There is an information gathering session Sep. 11 at the Elk's club on the road to Towe park hosted by Ken Boyd, the chairman of the Albemarle Board of Supervisors, to discuss lighting Towe Fields so they can double the number of games there and proceed with bulldozing McIntire.

UPDATE! At the meeting Ken Boyd, Chairman Albemarle County Board of Supervisors tried to keep the public comment on topic but right from the get go the public spoke up against bulldozing McIntire. This was the first chance the Softball Army had to publicly vent their anger, bewilderment, astonishment, etc. against this most knuckleheaded scheme in generations and they spoke loudly and forcefully. Ken Boyd stated the city council had not informed him that McIntire was going to be bulldozed and he didn't find out until several weeks ago. He also stated since the county is almost $4 million in the red and since new lighting will cost a minimum of $700,000, more likely double that, even if the committee approves lighting Towe it wouldn't be 'for 4 or 5 years' - if at all. LIGHTING TOWE IS DEAD unless a deal has been cut before the public hearing. And that will take us right back to the core of this whole mess.......the city council give away of a huge chunk of McIntire park to a private organization......you have to be a member of the YMCA to use their facilities......and the use of a questionable transaction (a LEASE of public park land for $1 per year for 40 years to get around the requirement of a 75% vote for SELLING public park land). Remember, the YMCA already had a site approved at PVCC for their building BEFORE this McIntire mess began!

NOW we get the emails and notices from the city to support lighting Towe, complete with the promise of advocacy hints and 'talking points'. Where were the emails and notices before the ground lease vote was taken? There were none! What is the county going to say when the city councilors expect them to light Towe? How much weight will be given to the terms of the sale of land for Towe Park that no lighting will be placed there? Unless a deal has already been struck (the mayor says there is an EXPECTATION that the lighting will be approved) they'll say exactly what they said before.....NO! Will the county take the same attitude towards the city people coming into the county to double up Towe as the city took in justifying the McIntire Park giveaway because 'only 20% of the ballplayers using city parks are city residents." Where has this segregation of city and county residents come from when our community has worked so hard over the years to foster cooperation? The county taxpayers will say they are being expected to cover the city mistake of shutting down 2 long time fields when the county already had demonstrated its willingness to site the YMCA at PVCC and had approved the site! All the community cooperation seems to be coming from the county side in this matter. All this rigamarole because of the initial mistake of giving public land to a private organization - a decision taken by the city council and mayor with zero, timely notification to a significant, impacted group numbering many thousands. I am not advocating not supporting lighting at Towe. A number of players do support it because they feel they've been put in a box and will lose softball if the lighting is turned down. But the first and most important issue is stopping the incomprehensible giveaway of public park land to a private organization and gutting the most popular and most successful recreation program in the city...a recreation program with a history longer than any of the current City Council members.

It appears the County of Albemarle Board of Supervisors Chairman, Ken Boyd, has a better handle on the popularity and usage of McIntire fields for softball than does the City of Charlottesville mayor and city council. Click for article in The Hook.

Lindsay G. Dorrier, Jr. (Scottsville District)

Dennis S. Rooker (Jack Jouett District)

Ann H. Mallek (White Hall District)

Kenneth C. Boyd (Rivanna District)