Title
Discussion of Athletic Field Rental Fees for Alameda Youth Organizations.
Body
To: Honorable Chair and Members of the Recreation and Park Commission
From: Amy Wooldridge, Recreation and Parks Director
Re: Discussion of Athletic Field Rental Fees for Alameda Youth Organizations.
BACKGROUND
During the Recreation and Parks Commission discussion on the 2019 User Fee Schedule, one of the motions was a request for further information and discussion on the athletic field rental fees, specifically pertaining to Alameda non-profit youth organizations.
The athletic field use fees are currently $5 per hour for Alameda-based non-profit youth organizations. An Alameda organization is defined as 75% or more Alameda residents. This fee is charged to users of grass baseball/softball fields and multi-use rectangular fields and does not include the synthetic turf fields at Estuary Park. Sports include baseball, softball, soccer, ultimate frisbee, rugby, lacrosse and football. There are additional fees charged for field lights ($25 per hour), field prep for lining ($40 per game) and a tournament fee ($250 per day).
Prior to 2012, the athletic field rental fees were a flat $500 for one organization to book as many fields and hours that they requested plus an additional $5 per youth over 100 participants. This caused numerous scheduling issues and was an unfair system that created a higher cost per hour for smaller organizations. Larger organizations such as Alameda Soccer Club, Alameda Girls Softball Association and Alameda Little League were receiving the fields for less than $1.50 per hour and as low as $0.42 per hour while small leagues were paying over $5 per hour.
In 2012, the Alameda Recreation and Parks Department (ARPD) with Commission approval, changed the fee to $2 per hour after several discussions with the affected user groups. After implementation, ARPD staff met with user groups and explained that the rate per hour would continue to increase the...
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