ATLANTIC BEACH, Fla. — Questions are being raised after baseball players were kicked out of Jack Russell Park on Sunday mornings to make way for the farmer’s market.
On Feb. 23, baseball parents in Atlantic Beach were baffled after they heard baseball teams could not be on the fields until after 2:30 p.m.
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Action News Jax Shanila Kabir spoke to Mayor Curtis Ford who clarified this is just a temporary change.
Right now, the Atlantic Beach Farmer’s Market alone is bringing in a lot of traffic, and city officials need to decrease the number of vendors participating so both the games and the market can co-exist.
“Children are paramount in this city. The success of this ballpark and all the people who are involved cannot be denied. We will support Atlantic Beach baseball,” said Ford.
Ford apologized for the panic he may have caused within the local youth baseball community, especially those affiliated with the Atlantic Beach Athletic Association.
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“Shame on us for not communicating better,” Ford said.
Ford said young baseball players will be able to return to Jack Russell Park on Sunday mornings by mid-March.
Currently, officials need to focus on reducing the amount of traffic they are seeing during peak hours on Sundays, due in large part to the popular farmer’s market.
“With all of the children in the park, we worry about a child being hit or injured because of cars,” said Ford.
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Volunteer coach Josh Papelbon said he is relieved but thinks one solution might be moving the farmer’s market to another park altogether.
“We love the farmer’s market. We have a lot of parks here in Atlantic Beach, ones that are bigger than this, that maybe could support it and support that growth. This is like the baseball program here that has supported the growth of 300+ kids,” said Papelbon.
Atlantic Beach city leaders will discuss this temporary change on Monday at 6 p.m. during the city commission meeting.
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