By Lauren McSherry

Gopher holes in sports fields, poor drainage in the town riding ring and the need for a community center offering children’s programs are among the things that Los Altos Hills could be remedying in the near future.

The city council is considering requests made by five local recreation groups for $319,167 made available to the city through state grants. Project proposals have been submitted by the parks and recreation committee for paddock development at Westwind Barn; the Los Altos Hills Horsemen’s Association to renovate the riding ring on Purissima Road; Supporters of Westwind Community Barn for a community room; Mountain View/Los Altos Soccer Club to build a synthetic turf soccer field at the Bullis Elementary School site; and Los Altos Little League to replace the riding ring with a playing field or add two baseball diamonds to the proposed soccer field at Bullis.

Two neighboring cities, Los Altos and Mountain View, have been in the process of allocating their grant money. Los Altos has put its funds toward updating playgrounds at city parks since the city is required by state law to bring its playgrounds into compliance by 2008, said Dave Brees, recreation department supervisor.

Mountain View has not applied for its grant money yet but has several projects that the money could be available for, including minipark or playing field development, playground renovations or the Stevens Creek Trail project, said Lori Topley, analyst for the city’s community services department.