Times Observer photo by Josh Cotton The Warren County Commissioners will hold a vote on Wednesday on a 10-year lease with the Warren County Youth Baseball Softball Association regarding the ballfield complex at the Farm Colony.

The Warren County Commissioners are zeroing in on an agreement that will ensure the ball fields at the Farm Colony remain ball fields for the foreseeable future.

It’s an agreement over a year in the making between the county — which owns the land — and the Warren County Youth Baseball Softball Association.

Commissioner Jeff Eggleston said during Monday’s work session that there hasn’t been an “official lease on the books for some time,” harkening back to the Babe Ruth Baseball days. “People have alleged it was a 99-year lease but no one can find it.”

He said this agreement would “finalize the kind of work being done” and would also mitigate the county’s liability while enabling the baseball/softball organization “to grow and develop the space” so it is “more usable and more of an attraction.”

One thorny issue the commissioners had to talk through was whether the lease agreement would permit the association to put up a gate at the entrance to the complex.

“There are pros and cons to that,” Eggleston said.”It is restrictive… for what we’re considering a public space at least under these auspices.”

“Technically speaking,” he added, “we don’t necessarily look at this property as a public park. (We’ve) never encouraged public access. Really the only thing it’s technically been used for is those ball fields. (I) understand having a gate.

Concerns have been raised about people parking there at night.

“We don’t have any surveillance on it,” Eggleston said but he noted that it is “an issue” for the first document to formalize the use of the complex — that is publicly owned — only being fully open to the people that lease the space.

“It seems to me like it is a publicly used park and then this (the gate) would restrict that,” Commissioner Tricia Durbin added.

“The goal of this is to expand the utilization in that space,” Eggleston, indicating that a playground and restroom facilities are part of the plan for the future.

Consensus was found to remove the gate provision but Eggleston said he would be willing to discuss it as an amendment in the future if the need arises.

Eggleston said any future adjustments to the property would also require a request “to be made to us first so we can guide the development there.”

The lease is for a 10-year term according to a draft copy and would automatically renew for another 10 unless one party gives 90 day notice prior to the renewal. The rent to the Association is $1 per year.

Eggleston called 10 years a “good middle ground” in light of all the private investment that’s been made in that site.

Durbin called it a “really long time to commit the property if it can be used for something else.”

“Once this is done, our intention is to have a much closer engagement with them to develop that space,” Eggleston said. “This is a sign of faith in the organization and a willingness to work with them.”

The agreement will be up for a vote of the full board at Wednesday’s meeting.