The plan to build an athletics field complex in Almaden Valley has been kicked around for several years, as the soccer-crazy youth of the valley have been forced to practice and play on overused and worn-out fields at local schools and parks. As a result, the Almaden Youth Association was formed specifically to raise money and shepherd a privately funded field project through to fruition.

The AYA has spent years lobbying for the sports complex, and fundraising brochures printed by the nonprofit organization indicate that the AYA plans to pay for construction itself.

Meanwhile, the city of San Jose has spent $594,000 on the project—which has yet to pass an environmental review—and District 10 council representative Pat Dando has earmarked an additional $2 million from the District 10 Fund for the complex. For the project to get the official go-ahead, the city council must give final approval.

Attempts to clarify exactly how the AYA has spent its money have been met with resistance. AYA representatives have declined to answer specific questions about how much money the organization has on hand and what has been spent during the last year.

After the Resident asked numerous times to elaborate on how the organization has spent its money and how much it has in its bank account, Dan Kennedy, a certified public accountant who volunteers as the treasurer for the AYA, did not answer, saying he didn't have time to answer those questions. All members of the AYA board are volunteers.

As a 501c(03) tax-exempt nonprofit organization, however, the AYA must reveal its annual IRS reports to the public. But the AYA didn't file its 2003 report on time in May and instead filed for an extension. Now the report isn't due until Aug. 15.

In addition, the AYA also has not filed financial disclosure forms with the state attorney general's registry of charitable trusts, as required of all California 501c(03) nonprofit groups.

"We're happy to disclose everything we're legally required to disclose," said Nick Petredis, an attorney speaking for the AYA. "We don't know what the current financial status is," he said adding that board members are "all volunteers; they don't have time."

Directors of nonprofit organizations may be volunteers, but that does not excuse them from their fiduciary responsibility to the organization and its supporters. If board members have no idea what the current financial status of AYA is, it begs the question: Does anyone know the financial status of this organization, in which the city of San Jose has invested some $600,000 and earmarked another $2 million?

Ron Siporen, a former banker and finanicial advisor who ran for the District 10 council seat in March, has been following the sports complex issue for a while, and he says he is disturbed by the AYA's lack of transparency.

"These are hard questions to ask. Why don't they want to answer the questions?" asked Siporen, whose 8-year-old son plays soccer and baseball in Almaden.

"Everybody's in agreement that we want fields. Everybody I've met on both sides is well-intentioned. To hear the [AYA] won't open the books... I'm disappointed. That's shortsighted. They really need to be transparent."

Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services staff, which handles grant contracts with the AYA, told Planning Director Stephen Haase that contracts had been signed for two grants totaling $150,000. The Resident asked for copies of the agreements, but has yet to receive any. At press time Haase had not, either. And no one has checked yet to see how exactly the AYA spent the money.

"We will now make sure everything is in order," said Haase. "There's no ongoing reporting requirement."

No one doubts that youth in Almaden need more sports fields. But the way taxpayer money and community donations are slipping out of public view raises questions.

"It's a mess," said Siporen. "It's too bad. It's really too bad. A lot of people are very passionate about this. Let's have a good discussion about it. Let's put all the answers on the table. That would be refreshing—maybe. Bring lots of Tylenol."

Who's paying the bills?

Taxpayers have already paid more than expected for the environmental impact report (EIR) that is required for project approval.

The city council gave $50,000 to the AYA from the city's General Fund in October of 2002 to pay for the initial study. A related memo written by Sara Hensley, director of parks, recreation and neighborhood services, and Larry Lisenbee, the city's budget director, stated, "The city will fund up to $50,000 for the reports and AYA will pay for any additional costs above $50,000."

However, in May of 2003, Dando gave the AYA another $100,000 grant from the District 10 Fund to cover additional costs from the same study. The study was completed the same month.

At the end of 2002, according to the AYA's annual IRS report—the only year currently available—the nonprofit group had a balance of $68,400.

Without being able to examine the group's financial activity during 2003, it's hard to see why it asked for—and received—another grant to pay bills the AYA was supposed to cover.

In general, developers pay for the environmental studies, but when asked why the city picked up the tab for the EIR, city officials didn't have an answer.

"The developers pay, usually," said Councilman Chuck Reed. "In this case we didn't get any [payment from AYA]."

San Jose Planning Director Stephen Haase said the city deemed the initial EIR—completed in May of 2003 by the civil engineering firm RBF—inadequate. So the city council decided to pay RBF an additional $294,000 for a more complete study, which is scheduled to be released next month.

According to Kennedy, an Almaden resident who works for RBF, volunteered his services as a liaison between AYA and the engineering firm for that study. Kennedy didn't answer questions about whether the RBF employee had any official relationship with the AYA or had donated money to the project.

Laura Worthington Forbes, the lead RBF contact for the project, said the employee had a planning background and volunteered his help. "That's the only association," she said. "There's no formal association."

The city did not solicit bids for the second EIR, even though contracts worth more than $100,000 typically go through a formal bidding process.

Haase said a provision in RBF's contract allowed the city to skip the bidding, since using a consultant already familiar with the project would save the city time and money.

Conflict of interest?

"I can understand the perspective," said Haase about the apparent conflict of interest. "What is different is that no one at the city has an economic interest in the project and the [EIR] ultimately is the city's document. This is the case throughout the state. RBF has offices throughout the state and is a very competent company for this work."

One example highlights the difference between the two reports. The original study, which the city deemed inadequate, tested the capacity of a well located on the proposed site—the Caglia Ranch—for two hours to see if the well could supply water for fields without disrupting the water supply to neighbors in the urban reserve. The cost: $2,400.

In early May, RBF subcontracted a second test to another environmental testing firm, Lowney Associates, which pumped water at a varying flow rate for 72 hours. The cost: $111,250.

Dando said the city should probably have taken charge of the EIR in the first place, instead of the AYA.

Of the money spent by the city on the second EIR, the AYA is supposed to reimburse the city for $100,000, according to memos and synopses from the Nov. 25, 2003, city council meeting.

The repayment contract, though, still hasn't been drawn up.

"That's definitely something that needs to be memorialized," City Attorney Rick Doyle told the Almaden Resident.

Haase confirmed that his staff, along with Doyle and budget staff, will "close the loop" and get a signed agreement with the AYA for the reimbursement.

But Haase said the city can't force a private organization like the AYA to sign a contract.

Doyle, though, said that's where the city's leverage comes into play. "It's a project that we've committed—and will commit—resources and time to, and for us to come to the table, the AYA has to come to the table."

The city and the AYA are still negotiating who will operate the complex, although the nonprofit has printed in all of its literature and its IRS paperwork that the city will hand over the keys once the complex is built.

But Doyle has a different understanding. "It's a city project," said Doyle. "The AYA will have priority, but ultimately it belongs to the public. Having the AYA manage it might not work. It's a daily commitment."

The city attorney said a repayment agreement would be included in the management contract.

Still, the money might not ever return to city coffers.

"There's the category of loans that no one expects to be repaid, and they're just calling them loans to sound better," said Reed about the city's Byzantine financing system. "It can usually go out there and just march off for years if no one cares about it."

The AYA also got a $150,000 grant from the Healthy Neighborhood Venture Fund on July 1, 2003, but there are conflicting understandings as to what the money was supposed to be used for. This grant, which works on a reimbursement basis—meaning the AYA pays out of pocket and then is paid back after submitting receipts to the city—was supposed to be used for capital improvement, according to PRNS grant manager Jessica Sheldon. But Dando said she thought the funds were to be used for anti-tobacco education. The AYA, however, refused to elaborate on how the grant was spent.

Paperwork for an HNVF grant is typically completed within 60 days of the award, said Sheldon, but a year later, the paperwork is still missing.

"It's currently being drawn up," said Haase.

What will it cost?

Leasing the 35-acre site from the San Jose Unified School District is the least expensive part of building the complex. The district agreed to rent the site to the city for $1 a year for 20 years, with the lease up for renewal every five years. But because the land may ultimately be reclaimed by the school district, no permanent structures can be built. (The financially strapped school district, which closed three schools this year to save money, has been criticized for leasing the property at such a cheap price.)

The AYA would not elaborate on the current plan for the complex, but Dando said the design includes six soccer fields, four baseball fields and three softball fields, along with parking spaces for 475 cars. There will be no permanent bleachers, grandstands or concession stands, and the number of portable restrooms still fluctuates, as does the number of annual tournaments that will be held at the complex.

Dando said that depending on what the final EIR allows, the design—and thus the cost—will change.

"I doubt there would be a total estimate until the project is approved," Dando said.

The complex may be built in phases to test how the well's water supply holds up in reality as grass is planted on the 35-acre site, Dando added. If the city and AYA opt to use artificial turf instead, the price will rise significantly.

In 2002 the AYA estimated the McKean Road complex would cost $2.75 million and said it would raise the money for construction itself.

In comparison, the Shady Oaks Sports Park, a similar athletic field complex planned by the city on 60 acres near Hellyer Avenue and Coyote Creek Drive, carries a $9.75 million price tag. This project, which will include six to eight soccer fields and a baseball/softball diamond, was financed by Measure P, a city bond passed in 2000.

"AYA seeks to raise the $2.75 million over the 2 1Ž2-year period through June 30, 2004," an AYA fundraising pamphlet read. But it is impossible to say if the AYA has met its fundraising goal, as the group says it doesn't know how much money it has, according to AYA attorney Petredis.

Field construction may be delayed or canceled if the nonprofit can't raise enough money, even with Dando setting aside an additional $2 million.

"They'll receive a set amount of District 10 money, then take that and leverage that with private funding," said Dando. "Development will be limited by their fundraising and the EIR.

"You've got a group of hardworking, dedicated community members who have been working for years," she added. "They are simply volunteering on a board trying to make this happen."

The city of San Jose has dedicated $2,594,000 for the AYA's planned sports field complex on McKean Road.

$50,000 grant from the city's General Fund, issued in October 2002

$100,000 grant from the District 10 Fund, issued in May 2002

$150,000 grant from the Healthy Neighborhood Venture Fund, issued in July 2003

$294,000 for a second environmental impact report from the General Fund and District 10 Fund, issued in November 2003

$2 million has been set aside from the District 10 Fund to be issued in the future.

The AYA's initial plans for the sports complex included 12 soccer fields, parking for 600 cars, three concession stands, storage sheds and restrooms, on 77 acres.

The design has been scaled back to six soccer fields, four baseball fields and three softball fields on 35 acres, along with 475 parking spaces. There may be between one and eight portable toilets.

(According to AYA fundraising document dated March 2, 2002)

Dan Smyth, president

Dan Kennedy, treasurer

Brad Bosomworth, secretary

Clyde Broussard

Mike Chavez

Kelley McMahon

Jeff Pine

Gary Rummelhoff