About a dozen coaches, parents and volunteers associated with
area soccer and football teams that frequently use the artificial
turf fields at the Outdoor Sports Complex convinced the Morgan Hill
City Council to delay a decision to raise fees for the fields’
use.
MORGAN HILL
About a dozen coaches, parents and volunteers associated with area soccer and football teams that frequently use the artificial turf fields at the Outdoor Sports Complex convinced the Morgan Hill City Council to delay a decision to raise fees for the fields’ use.
But there’s not much time and they may not be able to satisfy the protesters, the council warned Wednesday night, as they have to finalize their decisions soon on how to cover next year’s budget deficit.
Some level of fee increases will likely be necessary starting in the next fiscal year, as the city hopes to recover more of the expenses associated with running and maintaining the fields on Condit Road, according to city staff and council members.
“There are implications for the city budget,” Councilman Larry Carr said. “I’d like (the Parks and Recreation Commission) to consider a phased approach, but we can’t absorb everything.”
Those opposed to the new rates recommended by Recreation and Community Services Director Steve Rymer acknowledge the need to raise the fees. But they think the proposed increase is too sharp, the sports organizations should have been given more notice and the city’s desired rates should be phased in over a period of several months.
They said the proposed rates would force youth sports organizations such as Orchard Valley Youth Soccer and Pop Warner football to raise the fees they charge players, to a level that would inevitably prohibit some current participants from playing, attendees at the meeting said.
“There are a lot of underprivileged kids in this community, and we strive to keep our fees as low as possible (for them),” said Lisa Schmidt, vice president of Orchard Valley Youth Soccer. She said the fees proposed by city staff would force the organization to raise its fees from $10 to about $25 per child to play for a season.
“That’s going to be the difference for some kids,” she said.
The cost to use the fields for OVYS would jump from $14,000 to $35,000 per year if the council approved the proposed increases, Tony Rodrigues, president of the association said.
The council was scheduled to vote on the fee increases Wednesday. However, members asked the PRC to conduct at least one public workshop to gather input on a possible phased-in approach before the next council meeting April 15, when the issue will return to the agenda.
The hourly fee for nonprofit residents’ games, the category which would include OVYS, would go up from eight dollars to $10, and the practice fee would jump from four dollars to $10 per hour. The fee for another of the facility’s biggest clients, the California Youth Soccer Association which is classified as non-resident nonprofit, would go from $28 to $42 per hour.
Most users of the synthetic turf fields would see a 50 percent increase in hourly fees.
Rymer said the rates he proposed would increase revenue generated by the complex by about $36,000. The facility currently generates about $70,000 annually.
The fee increases are consistent with the city’s “sustainable budget strategy and the city’s inability to subsidize services,” Rymer said.
He noted that PRC members suggested to him that more community outreach should be conducted before the fees went to the council. Rymer added that organizations and teams that use the fields were notified that a fee increase was coming, though they were not notified of the amount of the increase until March 10.
Furthermore, while the San Jose Earthquakes professional soccer team has talked with the city about the possibility of taking over operations and maintenance of the OSC, Rymer said those negotiations have been put on hold at least temporarily due to the economic situation.
Donovan Mott, a volunteer for OVYS, said the organization has already set its rates for players next season, and if the council approved the recommended increases, the soccer league would struggle to find a way to cover the expense. “A timely and well-planned fee increase would allow us to use these fields,” Mott said.
About 1,400 kids play soccer for OVYS, which used the fields about 1,500 hours out of the 4,000 total hours the fields were reserved last year. CYSA, of which OVSA is an affiliate, booked the fields about 1,300 hours last year.
Rich Phillips, president of Morgan Hill Pop Warner youth football, another frequent user of the OSC, said in the last five years his organization has already seen substantial cost increases, making it difficult for the organization to absorb the proposed increase.
And Roy Bannister, a former coach for youth soccer teams, said keeping the fields affordable has benefits beyond being able to play competitive sports.
“It’s about keeping kids off drugs, keeping them out of gangs and keeping them in school,” Bannister said.
