A working group involving representatives from the Town of Huntsville and the Huntsville Soccer Club has been struck to iron out details of an agreement that may pave the way for the club to have new fields.

Parks and recreation committee chair Mike Greaves announced to the committee at its March 12 meeting that he, mayor Claude Doughty, director of development services Terry Sararas and community services director Brian Crozier will meet with soccer club president Kenneth Donald, treasurer Dan Willett, club coach John Burnside and minor soccer director Doug Litchfield to discuss terms of the agreement.

“The idea is to strike while the iron is hot,” Greaves told the parks committee last week, referring to the quick creation of the group. “It is relatively easy (to work on the immediate conditions) but that is why we need to get on this now before the next soccer season starts.”

The idea for the working group is the result of a March 4 special committee meeting held to iron out differences between the two sides.

The club is requesting: irrigation and the establishment of permanent soccer fields at McCulley Robertson Sports Complex for ball fields D and E; lights and bleachers to one field; a clubhouse with changing facilities and showers; two additional permanent fields, at least one with artificial turf; and an indoor facility.   

The town has indicated in recent months it is willing to work with the club in securing field space at one of the area public schools as well as talking with representatives from the former German Canadian Club about using the field there.

The March 4 meeting appeared to resolve many of the outstanding issues, including the club’s need for more field space.

Greaves said the town is willing to enter into an agreement with the soccer club that would address issues for the coming season, such as the use of the ball diamonds. One notion he brought up was the possibility of developing two regulation-sized fields on a 25-acre former dump site behind the Huntsville fair ground.

The committee was struck to start working on an agreement between the two parties.

Parks committee member Steve Alcock was concerned that the working group would somehow circumvent the authority of the town committee. “I’d like to think that at some point (parks and rec committee) will be part of the process and not just here to rubber stamp a decision that has effectively been made,” he said.

Greaves assured Alcock that would not be the case. “We can’t bypass this committee. This (working group) is a subcommittee of this committee. What is decided by the working group has to come back to this committee, which is where your level of discussion gets involved.”

Greaves said no date has been set for the working group’s first meeting.