City officials recently decided, after hearing from a Riverside Elementary School parent representative, that it wouldn’t be wise to go with staff’s recommendation to have the field at Riverside Park that is near the school. The city will now look at the possibility of having a field at Corporate Park even though it is not now zoned for such kind of activities.

The meeting was held two days after Paul Kempinski, a Coral Springs police officer, was shot while he tried to stop a robbery suspect who was wielding an AK-47. The incident seemed to weigh on Mayor Scott Brook’s mind.

"I would love to have a paintball field somewhere in the city,” Brook said. “The timing of a park opening in the near future would be awkward for me, if not inappropriate for the community. We have one of our own down by a gun, for the first time in our city," he said.

City staff zeroed in on Riverside Park after considering various other sites in the city like Sportsplex, north of the dog park parking lot, the southwest lot at Sportsplex, and Broken Woods. A public hearing on the proposal to have the field at Riverside Park was held April 2. Sixty to 70 people attended; 23 people were in favor of the park, while 10 were against it.

Riverside Park may not be the ultimate site, but this “is the best we have to offer,” said Rick Engle, director of parks.

“We have looked everywhere; we have exhausted our search,” said City Manager Mike Levinson. "It is far from ideal, but Riverside Park is the best site available.”