 |
| West Creek Project |
| Click here for Q & A |
| Click here for Letter to Striker Families |
| Click for Photos of Site |
|
June 1, 2007 Update on West Creek Fields Project
Attention all Richmond Striker Families Most Critical Initiative Facing Our Club and We Need You!
As you know, the Strikers are hoping to develop several acres leased to us by Markel Corporation at the West Creek Office Park for soccer fields. These fields are critical to the club as we are losing the Cosby Fields after November 2007.
Last week, we sent a letter about an important Goochland County Meeting that will held on Tuesday, June 5 at 7:00 pm, at the County Administration Building. At this meeting, our attorney Bill Axselle, will be seeking the support of the board to proceed with the process of applying for the necessary permit (a CUP or Certificate of Use Permit) so the Strikers can build fields at West Creek. This is not a full hearing on our application, but rather a first step in acquiring the right to proceed with our application.
It is extremely important that we have Goochland families attend this meeting in support of the Strikers. All the supervisors will be there and they want to know how important this issue is to their residents. We encourage you to bring your children in their uniforms and help us show in a positive manner how much public support there is for this project among Goochland’s residents. We also want to show our appreciation to the Board of Supervisors for hearing the Striker’s position before making a judgment on whether or not we can proceed with the CUP process. (Following is a letter that explains this in more detail). You will not have to speak as Mr. Axselle will be representing our position.
We hope you and your family can be there to help us at this critical juncture of the process. We will be the first item on the agenda at 7:00 pm, and you can leave immediately after if you choose. Please call your Goochland County friends and teammates and ask them to join us! For more information, or to get answers to any questions, call 288-4625 ext.1 and talk to Scott, and please RSVP by email to Scott@strikersonline.com so we know who to count on at the meeting.
Where: Goochland County Administration Building 1800 Sandy Hook Road (River Road West/Sandy Hook Road) When: 7:00 pm, Tuesday, June 5. Attire: Kids in Striker gear/uniforms
Richmond Strikers Soccer Club has Potential for New Fields at West Creek in Goochland County Letter Writing Campaign a Key Ingredient to our Success!
Markel Insurance Corporation has offered the Richmond Strikers Soccer Club a year-to-year lease to develop 26 of their 227 acres at the Goochland County West Creek Office Park. Recognizing the Strikers’ recent loss of playing fields at Cosby (effective November 2007), Markel has generously stepped in to help the club continue to provide youth soccer and its many benefits to thousands of Richmond’s youths. But the fate of this project lies in the hands of the Goochland County Supervisors, the elected board of county officials who make a multitude of decisions on behalf of the residents of their respective districts. In order for this project to move forward, the Supervisors must give their approval.
Over the course of the next few days, the Richmond Strikers will be contacting Striker families who live in Goochland and the other counties asking them to write a letter to The Honorable Jim Eads, the Goochland County Supervisor of the Fifth District -- which is where the land resides. For Goochland residents outside of Mr. Eads district, we encourage you write your local supervisor as they have an influence over our success as well. Letters to the Goochland Gazette and Goochland Courier are also requested.
A sample letter is included on our website along with the necessary addresses. Business owners, corporate leaders, as well as any other individuals who can help get approval for this project, have also been contacted and asked to write a letter to Mr. Eads. The Strikers have already contacted major land owners in the West Creek Office Park, and they strongly support this project.
“The proposed location of the fields couldn’t be more perfect” (see map below), says Lynne Blain, president of the Richmond Strikers Soccer Club executive committee. The land is off Route 288 on West Creek Parkway and has numerous large, paved parking lots, easy access to and from the fields, no impact on residential homes in the county and pre-graded land that was originally cleared for a micro- chip processing plant. Further, this plan has the support of area land owners and developers at the office park.
“Playing fields are the lifeblood of our club,” states Scott Turner executive director for the Strikers. “There is a real shortage of field space in our area, and by offering a portion of their West Creek land to us, Markel is directly impacting the health and welfare of thousands of area youths. Actions like Markel’s speak highly of Richmond’s corporate community and demonstrates how valuable our community leaders feel youth soccer is in positively impacting the physical and character development of Richmond’s kids,” Turner remarked.
Now is the time for all Striker families and business owners from Goochland to write a letter to Jim Eads and the Goochland papers and tell them how important this project is to our children and to our community.
Talking Points about the Richmond Strikers Soccer Club West Creek Fields Project:
Markel Insurance Company is offering the perfect location with the following characteristics:
|