The Warrenton Soccer Complex, on the west side of Ridge Road in Warrenton, now sports a third soccer field and much larger parking lot – thanks to the generosity of several local individuals and businesses.

“There was a matter of urgency to finish the parking lot,” said Judy Bigby, retired principal of John Jacob Astor Elementary School. The city of Warrenton’s Planning Commission had a contingency that the lot had to be finished before the field could be used, because of safety issues.

According to Jerry Boisvert, Astoria High School boys’ soccer coach, the Lower Columbia Youth Soccer Association did not have the money for this, but individuals and businesses that support the LCYSA stepped forward with donations of time and equipment to make the project happen.

“Max Bigby, former high school boys soccer coach, was instrumental in putting the job together,” said Boisvert. After several phone calls, Bigby called Martin Nygaard and Jim Neikes. “Neither of them batted an eye,” he said

Nygaard, Neikes and Mike Sarin of Big River Excavating donated all the material, hauling and heavy equipment work to make the parking lot a reality. Gary Ziak layed out the work, Max Bigby said.

The site had to be graded, excavated, rock laid. “Neikes had seven trucks out there including a cat, backhoe, lowboy and compactor, said Max Bigby.

Not only did they donate all the necessary work, but they did so on a tight deadline, finishing the parking lot just a few days before the new field was put to use, Boisvert said.

The subrock for the parking lot came from the old Lewis and Clark School. The concrete from the school had a lot of wood and other debris mixed into it, making it unsuitable for government contracts and expensive to recycle. It was usable as subrock for the parking lot, however.

“Jim Neikes described it as ‘the most expensive rock in the county,'” said Boisvert, because it was moved from the school site in a hurry because of deadlines, then, after it was determined that the best use for it was the parking lot, it was moved again.

In addition to the support and contributions on the parking lot, Boisvert said that Nygaard of Nygaard Logging, Bayview Transit and Ken Kauppi Trucking were “major contributors” to the work needed to create the third soccer field.

Because of these community-minded individuals and businesses, Boisvert said that the $30,000 to $40,000 the LCYSA invested in the Warrenton complex “could clearly be assessed at $150,000 because of the generosity of these people.”

Now that the soccer field and a larger parking lot are in place, money for maintenance is needed. It became clear that the association’s lawn mower was not up to the task, Boisvert explained, and a “new” used one, costing approximately $8,500, would be needed. Yet another benevolent community member came forward with an anonymous challenge grant of $5,000. “Provided we can raise another $5,000 ourselves, we will have enough for the new mower,” said Boisvert. “It just astounds me how supportive this community is.”

In addition, the city of Warrenton and Clatsop County have also been very generous and helpful, Boisvert said. The soccer fields and parking lot are built on Warrenton city and county land. “They have been very supportive, they are wonderful resources,” Boisvert said.

Among other cost-cutting plans, a proposal has been submitted to dig a well to irrigate the soccer fields to save paying water bills.

Cost-saving measures and support have meant that the association has not had to raise its membership fees for several years. “Seventy percent of our funding comes from supporters and businesses that sponsor teams,” Boisvert said.

This year is a record-breaker in terms of kids participating in the LCYSA leagues. Boisvert estimated that more than 700 kids will use the soccer complex this year. “There are 85 recreational teams, not including our classic program, eight high school teams, a Hispanic group of six teams and 40 to 50 kids from the Long Beach (Wash.) Peninsula that come to play every Saturday,” he said.

If it weren’t for the kindness and generosity of local individuals and businesses in donating the time and resources for completing the third field, “we’d be scrambling for space to fit all the kids in. We had been planning this for three years” he said. Now it’s a reality and testament to the spirit and generosity of the community.