Mill Valley updates park plan for softball players

The Mill Valley City Council has approved an amendment to the Bayfront Park Master Plan in a move to upgrade the softball area.

The 46-year-old plan covers the fields and public area around Pickleweed Inlet, which five sports leagues use regularly. The amendment mostly affects Hauke Field North.

“What we want, for Mill Valley Girls Softball, is to give our girls the opportunity to play in a program that is consistent in quality and in scope to what the boys have,” said Julia Wilhelm Kazul, a league representative. “Today we cannot possibly have that. We can’t have that equality with the limitations imposed on our field and its use because of its inclusion in the Bayfront master plan.”

Mark Neumann, the city’s deputy director of operations and utilities, said the league approached the city last fall with a list of requested improvements, including more bleachers, bat racks, new bases, a new pitching rubber and a scoreboard.

The field is included in the park plan, necessitating an amendment. The change will allow improvements like new covered softball dugouts with cinder-block bases and shingle roofs, a protected bullpen and a storage shed.

Wilhelm Kazul said that when she attended her son’s Little League games, she noticed far superior facilities — a two-field complex with enclosed dugouts, a safe warmup place for pitchers, a snack shack and scoreboards.

“My son, who was only 5 at the time, must have walked onto the field and thought he was like a major leaguer,” Wilhelm Kazul said.

When she went to coach her daughter’s softball game at Hauke Field, the differences were stark: uncovered, chain-link dugouts; no warmup spaces for pitchers; no signage; a single batting cage.

“I looked around and thought this is not right, and certainly is not representative of what I think the values of Mill Valley are,” Wilhelm Kazul said. “This disparity is really not acceptable.”

Organizers also requested a snack shack, which would be shared with other field users. Neumann said a full-service snack shack could be difficult because it would have to get approved by county health inspectors. He said selling prepackaged foods and drinks would be “less burdensome” and a viable option.

“This could be accomplished out of a portable structure,” Neumann said.

The amendment removed a resolution that prevented leagues from playing on Sundays, which Neumann said limited the number of games the softball league could schedule. Instead, players on the fields must not exceed a total of 100.

Resident Doug McCracken said his daughter plays softball all over Marin and the Bay Area. He said being able to play on Sundays is essential to being a competitive team.

“My daughter, Kellyn, has gotten so much out of softball,” McCracken said. “Our field at Hauke Field is by far one of the worst accommodations for softball that they’ve seen.”

While many residents spoke in support of the changes, some worried about the effect the Sunday rule reversal will have.

“The sports leagues have full use of the fields Monday through Friday and all day Saturday and Sunday with one exception, and that is Hauke Park,” said resident Nancy Seitas, referring to all the fields in the city. “It is the one place the unorganized users, probably 70 to 80% of the population, can go.”

Councilmember Caroline Joachim asked who would approve any future changes at the field. Staff said the Parks and Recreation Commission would still have to recommend changes to the City Council, but it would be a more efficient process because it wouldn’t require an amendment to the master plan.

“Master plans are not tablets of stone,” Vice Mayor Stephen Burke said. “I think this is a thoughtful recommendation from staff that’s been worked very thoroughly this year.”