By Sherri Blevins
As of March, 2019 the Valley Head Tigers Baseball Team has no official home field to host their “at home” baseball games. This situation led Valley Head Athletic Club President, Dave Vest, to address the DeKalb County Board of Education at the March 12, 2019 work session. He came to the board with one main question, “What is the board going to do to remedy the situation? We are the only school that does not have a school field or one that is provided by the local city. “
Vest informed the board members and public about the events that led up to the current situation. He stated, “In 2017, Hammondville Park was what Valley Head used for the “home” baseball field. At that time the field needed lots of renovations to bring it up to standard. Vest said that he contacted Dr. Barnett to see if funds were available to apply to the park renovations. Vest continued that Dr. Barnett told him since the park was owned by the City of Hammondville, County funds could not be used on property that does not belong to the county. Barnett suggested that Vest contact the City of Hammondville to see if a lease agreement between the city and the board could be reached to solve the problem.
In 2017, Vest contacted then principal, Bill Monroe, about meeting with city representatives to work out a lease agreement solution. When the parties met, they agreed to start lease negotiations with the DeKalb County Board of Education. That was when things got complicated. City attorneys drew up a lease agreement and sent it to Dr. Barnett who forwarded a copy to the county attorney. The attorney had objections to some of the language used in the agreement that essentially held county board members and the superintendent liable in the case of a law suit resulting from injuries or damages at the park.
For the past two years, attorneys for both sides have considered, at least three different lease agreements that have proven to be unsatisfactory to both sides. To add even more of a complication to the situation, this past Christmas season led to another difficulty. The City of Hammondville decided to add Christmas lights to the park during the Christmas season of 2018. Sand Mountain Electric Cooperative (SMEC) agreed to install the electrical wiring for the Christmas lights. On inspection of the light poles to be wired, SMEC determined the poles to be unsafe and condemned them requiring the poles to be cut down. Now there is no electricity in the park and no one is allowed to use the field, which leads up to the present day situation.”
Vest also stated, “I am just trying to look out for the kids. They have been playing on a substandard field for the last fifteen years. When I took over as Athletic Club President, I made a promise that I would try to do something about that. Basically what I want to know is, what is the board’s responsibility? If you can’t agree on a lease agreement, what is the next step?”
Dr. Barnett replied, “I agree with Mr. Vest. This has been a long drawn out ordeal that needs resolving. It has lasted way longer than it should have.” Dr. Barnett explained that he and board attorneys have been trying to find a solution and are even investigating adding more liability to their current insurance policy or adding an umbrella policy to the lease agreement. In the meantime, Dr. Barnett has contacted Fort Payne City officials about the possibility of letting Valley Head use their facilities for home games. Fort Payne agreed and Valley Head Principal, Keith Kirby, is checking on that possibility.
Dr. Barnett added, “This has been an unfortunate event that has rocked on too long. I hate it and would like to have it resolved.” For full coverage of the DeKalb County Board of Education Work Session, visit Mountain Valley News’s Facebook page for video footage.