Elk Mound Property and Finance Committee to review village ball field usage fees
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By LeAnn R. Ralph
ELK MOUND — The Elk Mound Village Board’s Property and Finance Committee will be reviewing fees for use of the village’s ball fields and whether to recommend waiving those fees for youth sports organizations.
Elk Mound trustees once again discussed the village park rental policy at the December 4 meeting after also grappling with the fees at the November 20 meeting.
At issue during the November discussion was whether the village board should consider waiving fees for youth baseball tournaments and whether the village board should waive fees for all youth sports.
Earlier in the December 4 meeting, Jon Chisholm, who coaches youth baseball, expressed his frustration over being told two different fees — $400 or $500 — to secure the ball fields at the village park for a youth tournament in June, Battle of the Mound on June 22 and 23.
Chisholm objected to the back-and-forth with the village office and the village president about the amount of the fees and what had to be paid and when.
Chisholm pointed out that many volunteers had put in time and effort to improve the ball fields and that the youth sports programs have donated money for improvements at the field along with Eagle Scouts who have completed projects at the ball fields.
Since the village had made it so difficult to pay the tournament fee, Chisholm, who had paid the fee himself, said none of the proceeds from the tournament would go to the village but instead would benefit the youth baseball program.
At the November 20 meeting, village trustee Cynthia Abraham, who is chair of the property and finance committee, and Bob Bachman, also a member of the committee, said they had volunteered to donate the fees for the youth baseball tournament and suggested that the village board must have a more consistent policy about waiving fees for youth sports.
Terry Stamm, village president, apologized profusely at the December 4 meeting, stating that he had forgotten about the village park policy regarding tournament fees.
“The buck stops here. I forgot about the tournament fees. Thank you for your passion (concerning youth sports),” Stamm said.
Parks policy
The village’s parks policy is somewhat confusing with a variety of fees that pertain under certain circumstances.
According to the parks policy that is posted on the village’s website, there is a minimum fee of $25 for non-tournament use of a ball field and/or lights for the first three hours of the event, and the fee is calculated at $10 per hour for actual time of use and any and all time over three hours.
The village charges a fee of $100 per day for use of the pavilion for village residents, village property owners and for any fund-raising activity. There is a reservation fee of $150 per day for non-residents. For groups of 200 or more, there is a reservation fee for the pavilion of $200 per day. Members of the Elk Mound Lions Club in good standing will pay a fee of $25 per day, according to the policy.
There is a fee of $500 per year for softball league use of ball fields and lights, and the fee is waived for Elk Mound Area Athletics in recognition of their contribution to the maintenance of the ball fields, the policy states.
Groups of 300 or more are required to file with the village clerk-treasurer a certificate of insurance in the amount of $50,000 and to have the village named as the additional insured, according to the policy.
Specific fees regarding use of the parks for tournaments is a $100 per weekend garbage fee, a $100 per weekend fee for the fields and lights and $150 per day for pavilion rental.
A one-day tournament will be $350, and a two day tournament will be $500, while a three-day tournament will be $650.
The Elk Mound pitch ball tournament is considered part of Elk Mound Youth Athletics Summer League, and there is no additional fee for the event, according to the park policy.
Committee
The issues surrounding the parks policy and tournament fees for youth baseball and fees for youth sports will be taken up by the property and finance committee in January, Stamm said.
Committee members can decide at the January 15 meeting when they want to meet, and in the meantime, village board members can be thinking about the issue and should come prepared to talk about their concerns at the January 15 meeting before the property and finance committee schedules a meeting, he said.
“This makes us look bad,” Abraham said, adding she did not know what difference it made if village board members volunteered to pay the fees for the youth baseball tournament.
The question is not whether the fees should be donated but whether the village should waive the fees, Stamm said.
“This is all my fault … I will not let it happen again,” he said.
The village must be consistent on how the fees are assessed, he said, pointing out again that it was his fault for not remembering the tournament fees.
Whether to waive the fees is the issue, and Chisholm offered to pay the fee and did pay the fee, Stamm said, adding that he did not tell Chisholm the fields “would be lost” if the fees were not paid.
Village park rental fees are expected to be on the Elk Mound Village Board’s agenda January 15 to allow board members to express their ideas and their concerns to members of the property and finance committee.
