Kids running and laughing under the sun on a well-kept field is the sought-after tableau of contemporary American communities.
But who should be charged what for organized sport leagues on Orion Township fields?
It’s still up in the air, like a spiraling soccer ball.
Back in February, Orion Township adopted new field use policies, including a $40 per game fee to be charged to the leagues. The field use policy included a way to waive the fees for in kind services the leagues would perform.
At the township’s board of trustees regular meeting on July 20, the newly merged Orion and Oxford Soccer League/LOBOS were the first to apply for a waiver, in the amount of $8,700, for the setting up and painting 14 soccer fields.
The township is responsible for soccer set-up on two fields.
‘It doesn’t seem fair to charge us a per game fee when you’re not even doing the set-up,? said Dolores Gekiere, a spokesperson for the soccer leagues.
Gekiere said there are sometimes as many as 10 games played a day on one field, which would cost the league $400.
‘It doesn’t cost you that to maintain a field,? she said.
The non-resident fee was also a point of contention for future debate. According to Gekiere, each league used to pay about $1,000 each for non-residents.
Under the new policy, she said each league would have to pay around $10,000 a piece. This could double the league’s fee of $60 per player, to $120.
‘That’s a big chunk of change. It would price these families right out of the sport,? said Gekiere.
Trustee JoAnn Van Tassel said the policy was out of whack.
She thinks electricity should be the only thing anyone using township parks should be charged for, whether it’s sports or Concerts in the Park.
‘We are being burdened by a philosophy of a previous parks and rec. department employee who tried to charge for providing athletic fields into a moneymaking proposition,? Van Tassel said. ‘I’m totally opposed to that. You’re going to mow that grass whether if anyone plays on that field or not. Are you just going to let those fields grow wild? We shouldn’t be trying to make a profit on these athletic fields. This is for kids. It keeps them off the streets.?
Supervisor Matt Gibb said it costs the township several hundred thousand dollars to keep the fields in the park watered, fertilized and cut.
The new policies were meant to make it more fair for all the leagues who play on the field, some of whom were paying or providing services, and others who weren’t.
‘It needs to be equitable for everyone,? he said.
The request by the soccer leagues was postponed so the board can take a closer look at the policy overall.