Stradley Park

The Cocoa High cheer coach urged the council to finish fixing Stradley Park's drainage, sanitation and safety before adding amenities elsewhere, and offered to spearhead a fundraising committee.

Proposed a separate Cocoa Parks and Rec committee that could organize fundraisers through local businesses to raise private dollars for park projects, starting with Stradley.

Given 45 seconds under a liability caution, argued Stradley Park — built on swampland — needs a complete rebuild, not band-aid fixes, and asked the council to partner with the county.

The Cocoa Youth Athletics president said the league has come to council for five years with little result; a recent game drew nearly 1,500 people while sewage backed up into the bathrooms and the field was unplayable.

The league secretary described horrendous parking, nonfunctional bathrooms and four underused ballfields; she warned that six or seven teams sharing one football field will destroy the new turf.

A Cocoa High coach said she calls the health department almost daily; septic permits are stuck with a single county inspector, and she offered to fundraise or form a committee and to coordinate with County Commissioner Thad Altman.

A team mom said visiting families call Cocoa's field the worst in the league — spectators walking through sewage to find bathrooms — and urged the council to make the park a priority.

A parent suggested pumping or diversion solutions similar to those used by low-lying cities, said the field has been unusable for two weeks, and asked for an affordable fix that reflects pride in Cocoa's football tradition.

The Cocoa Little League secretary described exposed wires, fungus-killed grass, uneven fields and loose nails in dugouts, and asked the city to fund safety fixes the county won't cover under its $5,000 cap.

Briefly addressed the council on the Stradley septic issue before the vote on tank replacement.

Cocoa Little League board secretary presented photos of rotten dugouts, missing netting, a deteriorating concession building, and flooded storage rooms, asking the council for funding to make the fields safe.

Lifelong Cocoa resident and Little League parent said the park has been ignored for 30-plus years and kids are leaving to play in Merritt Island, Port St. John, and Rockledge because Cocoa's fields are run down.

Cocoa High senior and Little League parent said enrollment dropped from about 300 kids to 60 this spring because coaches and families are leaving for nicer fields elsewhere.