John,
You seem want to create an antagonistic position on a topic that is still very much in discussion stages. Your opening statement of "cross country may be a thing of the past over the historic Franklin Park course" is inflammatory and far from the truth. Your post lacks a lot of facts.
I addressed your claims in detail after your post on DyeStat; I won't repeat all of it here, but some basic points.
- Franklin Park is a city park, not Franklin State Park.
- The overwhelming majority of runners coming in to run are from out of the city.
- The park has a very small footprint and very little parking and the city has made it work in having thousands of participants and spectators descend on the park on a day.
- The Boston Parks staff that works with XC want it to continue, and gives a lot of time to the concerns. They have to balance XC race needs with the upkeep of the park as a whole, and to the abutting neighborhoods, who are the taxpayers and voters. That community is who the parks department is primarily responsible and responsive to. You don't have any idea how many times that group has smoothed things that potentially could have put significantly more restrictions on XC at FP; one of those was a letter/email campaign started by a few HS coaches based again on lack of all the facts. If parks wanted XC out, it would have been gone long ago.
- There is also a Franklin Park Coalition - the "group" that you may be referring to - that is a community park watchdog, something not uncommon in many communities. Some hard work by several individuals to establish good relationships with them has reaped much good will with that group regarding XC. There is no groundswell to eliminate cross country (spoken as a member of the FPC). But they do have a right to wonder how the still damaged fields are going to be repaired (and neither the MA state federation nor NCAA seem to want to be involved with repairing; budgets, you know).
- Beyond a $25 or $100 fee for use of the trailer and equipment, the costs are solely for rangers and an on-site parks department manager. There has been no usage fee. Compare that to some of the other major sites around the country (someone who knows what is charged and what is received at Van Cortlandt Park is requested to post).
- Like many cities, one of the first line items cut in tough budget times is parks department. General upkeep continues, major improvements and repairs do not get done.
The coaches ass'n did make an offer - not sure of the year - and it wasn't followed through on. Maybe a stronger or specific plan needed to be presented, and pursued.
There will definitely be a fee for all races in 2010, the question is how much and the form. It may be per runner, it may be on a sliding scale, it may be a combination. The college leagues you mention, as well as the individual college and the open meets are amenable to paying a fee. Meet directors of event now held at the park have been involved from the start via email in the discussions, and suggestions have gone back and forth. There will be an in-person meeting on it this spring so it is settled before the fall season.
But it's all very fluid, and the original posts lend nothing to the solution.
And, John, in the meantime, maybe you can put in a reservation to have your golf course in Falmouth host the state meets.
Steve Vaitones