Youth Groups Won’t Pay Field-Use Fees

The good news for Little League and other youth sports groups is that they got a reprieve again this year from having to pay a controversial fee for using Beverly Hills baseball and soccer fields.

The bad news is that the money the new fees would have brought for maintenance of the fields may have to be made up by other park users because of a continuing citywide budget crunch.

Workers have tried to keep the fields green and the parks well-maintained, but the Recreation and Parks Department has lost nearly a third of its staff through attrition and the city’s hiring freeze, acting Director Steve Miller said.

With those kind of losses, “we can’t wave the magic wand and promise everything will remain the same,” Miller said Tuesday.

The Recreation and Parks Commission had considered charging the youth leagues annual fees ranging from $6,500 to $45,250 to use the athletic fields at Roxbury and La Cienega parks beginning in 1993-94, after rejecting similar fees for 1991-92.

Other groups, such as sports camps, also use the fields, Miller said, but league activities were one of the few park uses not already being charged a fee, he said. The fees from Little League, Senior Little League, AYSO and Club Soccer would have helped defray the $191,000 annual cost of maintaining the fields.

However, in late December, the Recreation and Parks Commission voted unanimously to stave off the fees again because of the value of the programs offered to the community by these voluntary groups, Miller said.

About 1,900 children participate in league programs, he said. The children are taught not only sporting techniques, but also valuable socialization and sportsmanship skills through the organizations. If the department were to implement similar programs, it would have to charge fees 25% to 35% higher than what the leagues charge, he said.

Also, although the leagues do not pay any user fees, they have contributed toward the purchase of batting cages, soccer poles and other permanent park improvements, Miller argued.

The department had recommended that the commission charge the leagues a flat $3 fee for each participant, which would raise about $6,500 for the department, Miller said Tuesday. The money would supplement about $1.8 million the department brings in from its classes, park permits and other fees.

The new fees would have contributed only a small amount in additional revenue, Miller acknowledged, but “nickels and dimes add up over a period of time if you can find them,” he said. The money could have paid for a part-time maintenance worker for an entire Little League or AYSO season.

Scrutinizing nickels and dimes will become more important as the department begins working on its 1993-94 budget. The commission and city staff will have to take a close look at existing fees and permits as the department reviews its operating budget of about $8 million, Miller said.

Miller said his department isn’t alone in looking for new revenue sources. All of the city’s departments are being encouraged to look for ways to cut expenses and bring in more revenue because of a $1.4 million shortfall in money the city had expected to receive from the state this year. More state reductions are expected next year, he said.