Saratoga News

Athletic fields are one step closer to becoming a reality

Talks proceed with 'wish list'

By Sarah Lombardo

Saratoga Parks and Recreation commissioners, local athletic league officials, school representatives and city staffers met for a second time July 28 to discuss the future--and future costs--of local playing fields.

The meeting was devoid of the fireworks that accompanied the previous one in June, but with two more meetings to go and negotiations over the prices leagues will pay to use the fields yet to be discussed, some say more fireworks could be ahead.

At issue is how the city plans to spend about $1 million of the city's park-development fund, earmarked for the development of new sports fields. Tied into that project is the ongoing issue of how much local athletic leagues will be charged to use the sports fields.

With American Youth Soccer Organization and Saratoga Little League contracts to use Congress Springs Park expiring this year, the city had proposed charging the leagues on a per-child basis, instead of the flat $1,500 fee they previously paid. Little League officials had agreed to pay the new fee if certain one-time improvements would be made to Congress Springs, but AYSO officials argued that the new fee would amount to thousands of dollars more a year for the league--an expense they couldn't afford, and were reluctant to pass along to the kids. City officials said the increase was necessary to help pay for maintenance of future playing fields.

At the July 28 meeting, league officials and commissioners discussed the possibilities for each of the city's 10 sites. Project manager Jay Beals walked participants through the process of creating "wish lists" for each site.

At the group's next meeting, set for Aug. 19, Beals said they will begin talking about maintenance costs based on the wish lists, then compare the costs with the needs of the leagues and the city's financial situation.

Those talks will lead to negotiations relating to fees. AYSO Commissioner Larry Fine said the league is willing to pay for maintenance, but only for maintenance. "How much does it actually cost to maintain those fields?" he said. "If you're going to start tacking on all sorts of other expenses, we'll be a long time negotiating."

At last week's meeting, Parks Commissioner Jenny Crotty stressed that the proposed improvements to the playing fields are at risk of losing funding if an agreement can't be reached. Already, Crotty said, plans for the fields have been put on hold several times in the past few years as the city struggled with budget cuts.

"This is really it. The time is now," she said. Park-development funds are paid into by developers through the Quimby Act. The city has accumulated about $2 million, but under the law, the money can only be used for new park projects--not the maintenance of projects. In addition, the law states the funds must be used within five years, giving the city about a year to start spending or the money goes back to developers. "We keep running into stumbling blocks, but we need to just plow through this or the athletic needs of our children will never be met."

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