Roseville to replace 30-year-old Maidu soccer fields

The Roseville City Council told Roseville Parks and Recreation Department to begin looking for bids during Wednesday's City Council meeting to replace the 30-year-old irrigation system at the Maidu Soccer Complex. Replacing the irrigation system will be one part of a large recreation of the soccer complex that will also include new grass-type for the fields and potentially a new paved parking lot. According to Parks, Recreation and Libraries director Jill Geller, the current tall fescue blue grass used for the fields is strained, given the heavy use of the fields. Bermuda grass will be used for the new field surface, according to Geller. "Poor field conditions not only affect the player experience but it can also impact player safety," Geller said. With the amount of use and the type of natural turf that we have, it is next to impossible to keep them at the conditions that coaches and players expect." Construction for the irrigation system will begin in April and carry on until fall, according to Geller. The project is estimated to cost approximately $900,000 for the new irrigation system and the new grass. The Roseville Youth Soccer Club and Granite Bay FC will provide funding for the project, according to Geller, along with capital improvement project funds. According to Roseville City Manager Domincik Casey, although Measure B sales tax funds will not be used for the project, Measure B funds will be used to maintain the new fields. "While it is our goal to have the fields ready to play for later this year, it is important for the success of the project that we allow ample time for the new turf to get established," Geller said. The fields will be ready for play by 2021, according to Geller. In other news Staff members from the city of Roseville and Placer County provided a presentation about the 2020 Census and highlighted some impacts that non-participation can have on the city as well as what scams to look out for. According to Roseville Deputy City Manager Megan McPhearson, when someone does not complete their census questionnaire, the city loses $1,000 per person per year for 10 years in federal funding. "If our city is undercounted by just 100 people, that is a loss of $1 million (of federal funding) in the next decade," McPhearson said. Since the 2010 Census, there has been an addition of 7,312 homes in Roseville, according to Roseville geographic information system analyst Scott Miller. "If we take a conservative average of two people per household, that will represent $146.2 million in federal funding to the city over the next decade if all of the households actually participate," Miller said. The Census will not ask residents for their Social Security number, bank or credit numbers, donations and should not be on behalf of any political party, according to McPhearson. The next Roseville City Council meeting will be at 6 p.m. March 18 in the City Council Chambers at 311 Vernon St. in downtown Roseville.