North Lakeland Youth Soccer (NLYS) club members have engaged POLK County Commissioners and Park and Recreations Officials about the maintenance and improvements needed at the Hunt Fountain Park soccer fields. The park was built in 1980 to serve the community but the growth in North Lakeland has exhausted the current space. As a result, we are also requesting that POLK County allot funding to create more soccer fields on the designated park/land at 2010 West Daughtery Road.

We are kindly asking North Lakeland Communities and NLYS club families to support our petition to the County to improve the Hunt Fountain Park and to fund the designated West Daughtery Park plan.

Our goals

• Install lighting to the entrance on Green Road to enhance safety.
• Club members are requesting an amended or additional entrance signage to promote the “Home of North Lakeland Youth Soccer” - “Lakeland Rowdies”
• Installation of a pole above the club house to display the American flag and Lakeland City Flag
• Installation of a concrete slab to support a shed with estimated size 40’ x 20’
• Installation of a Plexiglass/Acrylic sheet inside the serving window of the concession stand
• Field Maintenance
• Improvement to the Hunt Fountain parking area to allow for more organization and efficient usage.
• Field expansion plan to meet the needs of the growing communities in North Lakeland
• Club members expressed safety concerns when turning into the park due to the darkness and poor visibility especially within Standard Time when it gets dark much earlier.
• Having a clear sign to express the club affiliation to Hunt’s Fountain Park allow visiting soccer clubs and their families to know that they arrived at the correct location. The sign will also promote the location of our club to families who drive by on Green Road.
• Club members feel that the flags will honor the spirit of our country and city and will be a beacon of the freedom, values, sportsmanship and excellence that his expected from the kids and communities at large.
• As part of the NLYS club growth – amenities such as promotional signs, player benches, small field soccer goals, field marking units and other soccer related equipment are utilizing most of the existing space. As a result, the club is negotiating to purchase a shed that would hold these amenities and allow the clubhouse to be used for classroom technical learning and video training sessions.
• The county was very understanding of the heat complaints in the concession area and installed an A/C unit inside the building but the air is blowing out the serving window due to the openness of the current setup.
• The county has done a great job cutting the grass and keeping all the park areas clean. However, club members would like to have a grass fertilization schedule, turf patching, and insect spraying especially in the rainy months. This is more of an issue since the county does not allow the club to do any maintenance.
• The parking area is currently shared with baseball and softball teams, which increases the congestion and lead to double parking and blocking-in of other vehicles. Having a paved/gravel layered parking area with designated spots and parking lot blocks would improve the flow and organization and allow for more efficient usage.
• The West Daugherty Project plan for the property located 2010 West Daugherty Road was proposed few years back and has been on hold due to a downturn of the economy and the impact on county revenues.

The land is 28.5 acres and is designated by the county for the development of a park