Fields under dispute

The fields at Scott City's Big Buck Park are silent now. Summer baseball and softball are long gone.

But since the end of the season these fields have become an object of dispute -- a dispute that the Scott City government hopes can be resolved at a special council meeting taking place at 7 p.m. today.

At its last meeting, Scott City's park board, an appointed body responsible for overseeing the operations of the city's parks and recreation department, enflamed the tempers of Scott City Youth League members when the board voted not to renew the league's contract to use the fields at Big Buck Park, an arrangement that's been in place for seven years.

"They want to run the youth league and do what they want, without the parents' say-so," said LeAnn Wilthong, president of the Scott City Youth League and a member of the city council. "We are a board of parents, elected by parents ... We are parents, we have over 200 children playing ball, and we have been doing this for seven years. We're doing something right."

The youth league's membership is made up of parents of the children involved in youth league sports. They elect a board of directors, which makes decisions on youth league policies. Under contract, the league leases the playing space from the city, which provides facility upkeep and pays for utilities, an arrangement common in cities throughout the area, including Cape Girardeau and Jackson.

Such leagues provide for efficient management of youth sports without placing extra burdens on city parks departments.

"The volunteer efforts by people who run the league are very valuable," said Shane Anderson, Jackson's parks and recreation director. Youth leagues put the key stakeholders -- the parents -- in charge of administering youth sports, said Anderson, and the arrangement has worked well in Jackson.

Dan Muser, Cape Girardeau's parks and recreation director, said his department has a long-standing arrangement with its youth leagues going back before he took his current position.

Given that Scott City's arrangement has been in place for seven years, and that youth leagues independent of city governments are common, Scott City's youth league leadership wonders why the park board wants to dissolve a seven-year relationship they say has worked well.

Park board members either couldn't be reached for comment or declined to comment pending the result of tonight's meeting, and minutes of the board's last meeting, in which the issue was discussed, were not available.

Youth league leadership said the park board cited unclean restrooms, a lack of staffing at the concession stands and scheduling that had numerous games happening on the same field at the same time as reasons for wanting to cancel the contract.

Wilthong admits restrooms might have been dirty at some points during the season. "When you have children out there, bathrooms are going to get dirty sometimes," Wilthong said.

But as for a concession stand that doesn't have the staff to operate and scheduling conflicts, Wilthong said those things never happened. And she wonders if the time and money she says the league has put into improving the park -- installing backstops, bringing in dirt for the fields, securing a grant for lights -- mean anything to the park board.

Youth league members say they weren't approached about complaints so the problems might be corrected.

"I believe there's a communication gap, that things need to be ironed out in a more professional way," said Scott Raines. Raines serves as youth league vice president and has been involved with the league since its formation. He signed the original contract with the city as the league's first president.

Before that, Raines was a park board member.

Raines said complaints are common with the youth league, and youth leagues in general. However, Raines and Wilthong said the volunteer efforts of the parents who invest their time are the best way to administer youth sports.

Wilthong sees the recent developments through the lens of small-town politics, and wonders if someone has personal reasons for wanting the youth league's lease denied. She also wonders if money is playing a factor in the move.

Scott City's parks department operates at a deficit, albeit a small one -- a little less than $3,000 this summer, when the department's biggest expenditure item, the city pool, is in operation. Summer also brings extra labor costs.

Regardless of the park board's motivation, Scott City's mayor and some city council members said they hope any difference can be ironed out at tonight's meeting without both sides hurling accusations or getting out of hand.

Before last week's regular council meeting, the city council had no idea of the brewing controversy.

"In the end, the council will do what's best for the families and children," Porch said.

Council member Kirk Lewis said he expects both groups to be vocal at today's meeting. The meeting will be an information session, held so the city council can hear both sides' cases before possibly making a decision on the contract. Any decision would come a week from today at the council's next regular meeting.

How that decision will be made is still up in the air. According to Wilthong, the park board actually voted to cancel the contract at its recent meeting, something she said only the city council has the authority to do.

City attorney Frank Siebert has written an opinion on who has that authority, but said he couldn't discuss that opinion because it's privileged information intended for use by the city council. The city's contract with the youth league cites the authority of the city council.

Also unclear is whether Wilthong, who clearly has a vested interest in the youth league contract, can vote on the matter. The city's conflict of interest ordinance only deals directly with situations that will give council members a financial boost, not matters pertaining to civic organizations.

Wilthong said she's reviewing case law concerning the matter, and she's still somewhat unclear on how to proceed. She won't make her decision until after tonight's meeting.

Raines is optimistic that after tonight's meeting, the matter will be resolved.

"I believe that nothing but good can come out of it," Raines said.

msanders@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 182