- Marco Island residents formed a nonprofit to renovate a closed elementary school ballfield.
- The group secured a 10-year lease for the field and has raised over half a million dollars for renovations.
When a group of residents realized the ballfield at Tommie Barfield Elementary School on Marco Island was closed and could be down permanently, they took action. First, they went to city council to ask what happened and for help. Then they decided to save the field themselves.
Led by Joey and Doreen Oliverio, their family and some other parents and grandparents of children on Marco, they created a nonprofit called Marco Island Youth Baseball Inc. They have raised more than half a million dollars and are hoping for $1 million or more, Joey Oliverio said. Improvements the group plans for the field are estimated at $1.5 million.
Working with City Manager Mike McNees and City Councilman Rene Champagne, the group took a proposal to the board of Collier County Public Schools to lease the space. The field had been operated by the City of Marco Island through an interlocal agreement…