Plans to upgrade and make permanent the sports fields called Engle Field just outside of Coupeville took a small step forward last week.

Exactly when those upgrades will occur remains an unanswered question. Coupeville school officials don’t expect to have enough money to upgrade the fields after other high-priority construction projects are complete.

“We have to wait until we finish the high school project and then the first priority is the covered play area at the elementary school,” Superintendent Bill Myhr said at the Monday evening school board meeting.

The space, located at the corner of Terry and Ebey roads, would include a baseball field, softball field and a practice soccer field. The old fields were destroyed to make room for the new high school which is now under construction.

The school district already has temporary fields at Engle Field. That gives the baseball and softball teams a place to compete. However, the temporary permit, given by the county, is set to expire and school officials had to develop a permanent plan and hold a hearing for public comment on the proposal in order to get a new permit.

That hearing took place during Monday’s Coupeville School Board meeting.

Most people commenting on the plan were concerned about how the fields would incorporate into the surrounding Ebey’s Prairie.

“It seems like you’ve done a really good job of being responsive to the aesthetics of Ebey’s Prairie,” said Coupeville resident Jan Pickard.

Marshall Bronson, representing Ebey’s Trust Board, was concerned about the surface of a future parking lot and a trail that would tie into the Kettles trail that runs alongside the highway.

He also wanted the school district to use a softer color on the softball field backstop.

Rob Harbour of the National Park Service said he wanted to know where the trail would go on the land.

The school board has safety concerns about a trail that isn’t separated from the fields that are used by students. The proposed trail would either be separated by a hedgerow or a fence.

Other people were concerned about whether children would start crossing the highway at the intersection with Broadway and whether they could be funneled to the overpass at Main Street.

Vin Sherman wanted to know whether the field could be used for parking during games.

The district’s temporary permit forbids parking on the field, and motorists can’t park on the adjacent roads.

Myhr didn’t know whether the new permit would allow for parking on the field without a lot.

Should the school district get a new permit, it would last for eight years. If the permit expires, then the school district would have to reapply and follow any new regulations that are in place at that time.

Even though a lower-priority project, the school district planned to use bond proceeds to pay for upgrades at Engle Field. However, plans changed when high construction inflation caused the cost of the new high school to increase.

Myhr said the school district will have to look at finding money in the coming years to pay for the upgrades.

Anderson said during the meeting the Engle Field project could be worked into the next bond the Coupeville School District runs. However, that could be years away.

Myhr said, historically, the Coupeville School District runs a bond approximately every 12 years.