Atlas Twp.-The township trustees gave a local soccer organization a kick in a new direction.
The board OK’d a plan Monday night for a soccer field, utilizing about an acre- and-a-half of approximately 11 acres of township land east of the hall with frontage on Gale Road. The decision marks the first township use of property for recreational use.
Representatives of the Goodrich Soccer Club, a local group consisting of about 400 area youth players plus a number of parents and coaches, presented a conceptual plan to the board of trustees last January. Since then, the idea was discussed while Township Attorney David Lattie incorporated many factors into a contract including liability, along with public use of the property.
‘I am very grateful to the township for their decision,? said Rick Kurkechian, Goodrich Soccer Club fields coordinator, who spearheaded the project for the club. ‘It is our intent to make this field a showcase to other communities and keep this facility as pristine as possible.?
Kurkechian said the GSC will fund the project through fees charged players of about $20 in addition to fundraisers of pizza sales and volunteer efforts at the Buick Open held in Grand Blanc each summer. The project’s estimated cost is between $5,000 and $10,000, with tree cutting to begin in about two weeks. Excavation will be partially funded by township-based Johnson and Sons Excavation and should begin in July. Grass seed is set to be planted at Labor Day.
Terms of the deal include $1 million in liability insurance paid for by the club, and a 10-year lease.
‘By the spring or summer of 2011 we should be playing the first games on the new field,? added Kurkechian. ‘It will take a full year to get the turf ready.?
Once completed, the 200-foot-by-350- foot field will be home to four to six area travel soccer teams with parking at the Goodrich Middle School.