The condemnation of the Propst/Vassar family as 'holdouts' aside, the deal to bring a soccer complex and community park to the Burns Bottom area in downtown Columbus will come to fruition.

Few families have a longer or more impassioned connection to parks and recreation in Columbus than the Propst family and their heirs.

Instead of stumbling over getting the family's signature on the dotted line, we must not lose sight of greater community investment goals that do remain in dispute.

First, the overall plan for the Burns Bottom area includes another 30 or so acres to the north and west of the core property.

That land is not essential to the soccer complex, but it is critical to the long-term development of the overall downtown park, including pavilions, a special needs playground, green space and potential ponds and educational facilities using the wetlands in those areas.

Furthermore, those properties provide the visibility that will eventually be an important part of the project.

As the central properties are finalized, city and county officials must quickly turn their attention to the surrounding land owners to bring them into the fold either by consent or through eminent domain if that becomes necessary.

Everything doesn't have to be built at once, but going only halfway with planning and developing the park cheats the community of the promise and opportunity the total 70 acres offers.

Other sites -- the east side of Third Street North and the south side of Second Avenue -- also should be explored for possible acquisition. Not including those areas in the overall scheme is akin to planning only half a home.

At the same time, city and county officials must put aside their personal differences and come to an agreement on improvements to neighborhood parks.

During a joint meeting this week among county supervisors and Columbus council members, supervisors, in particular, were divided on how to proceed with some $1.6 million in proposed improvements and upgrades.

The rifts came just a week after District 1 Supervisor Harry Sanders appeared to seal the deal by telling his constituents in the Anderson Grove community work could begin by next summer on a 5,000-square-foot community center in their neighborhood.

By Tuesday, Sanders was talking about not spending money on centers that weren't needed or were being overbuilt. Anderson Grove was one such center.

For too long, neighborhood parks have been a political battleground -- the Gettysburg of recreation issues in the county.

This is not an issue where someone has to win and someone has to lose. Simple compromise will make everyone -- most notably neighborhoods and communities -- winners.

The priorities and a timetable are easy; the old issue of trust among our elected leaders remains the stumbling block.

Everyone agrees Charles Brown Gym and the adjacent Townsend Park need to be upgraded. The gym, built on a former landfill, is beyond saving. Tear it down and replace it with a community center. Add in a basketball pavilion and you get a park in which the community can take pride and use.

The same goes for the East Columbus center. It needs renovations and a new heating and air system.

The proposed improvements -- $30,000 -- to Northaven Woods also are legitimate. The plan is a perfect opportunity to get a neighborhood involved in helping itself. That effort could be a model for other communities.

The same goes for Anderson Grove. If Sanders doesn't think 5,000-square-feet is needed -- and he's probably right, but he should have told his constituents that in the first place -- then plan a smaller, more efficient 3,000-square-foot facility.

The proposals for a community center in New Hope and future park expansion in Caledonia are less specific but certainly reasonable. Everyone can commit to setting aside money for those two goals and letting the communities get involved in deciding how and where they should be built.

That leaves the most complicated aspect of the proposed improvements -- Sim Scott Park.

District 5 Supervisor Leroy Brooks seems dead set on building a new 5,000-square-foot community center there. But other, more reasonable -- and beneficial options -- are available.

Brooks could demonstrate leadership and vision by pushing an alternative that would have the community and the Columbus city schools share the Hunt Intermediate School building, located just a few feet across the street from the park, when it closes next year.

The school district hopes to move its administrative offices into part of Hunt but won't use about half the facility. School districts and municipalities across the country save money by building joint education-recreation complexes. Adams County in Mississippi is planning such a facility.

Columbus and Lowndes County should do the same. In fact, a site on the grounds of the New Hope athletic complex might be worth considering for the proposed community center.

The historic neighborhood could get far more, including a gym, large cafeteria, meeting rooms, adequate parking, and other facilities that would be perfect for the kind of programs -- health forums, senior citizens activities, adult education, after-school tutoring and mentoring -- Brooks and Ward 5 Councilman Kabir Karriem advocate.

The existing center at Sim Scott could be torn down and used for parking, green space, playgrounds or even neighborhood gardens, something Brooks also has touted in the past.

The county could use $150,000 of the $290,000 proposed for Sim Scott to improve the community portion of Hunt. The remainder could be saved or shifted to other facilities.

In addition to providing more bang for the buck, such a move serves another important purpose -- preserving the legacy Hunt played in shaping the African-American community. If a county-wide museum isn't an option, the new community center at Hunt could become a showplace for African-American history, including Union Academy, Hunt, Sim Scott and other nearby landmarks.

The collection would become a learning center not only for the neighborhood but also the broader population.

The problem is timing and by extension, trust.

All the other projects could be done next year. But work on turning Hunt into a community center can't begin until after the school closes, probably at the end of 2010. That's part of what has Brooks worried. He doesn't want to commit to everyone else's projects only to see his prime goal get pushed aside after the fact.

It shouldn't be necessary but as a show of good faith, the New Hope and Caledonia projects could be linked to the Hunt project -- one can't begin without the other.

Whatever it takes, supervisors must make commitments that earn and assure each other's trust. It's not only the foundation of decision-making and progress, it's also a fundamental aspect of leadership. Now, more than ever, that's what we expect and demand from our local leaders.

We've talked about neighborhood parks long enough. Everyone has professed their support for much-needed quality-of-life improvements. The gamesmanship is getting old.

As Recreation Board member Oop Swoope said during Tuesday's discussion, "It's time to put our money where our mouth is."