Budget deficits derail council/MUSD field usage agreement

Members of the Maricopa City Council and the MUSD governing board failed to agree Thursday evening on an intergovernmental agreement for the public use of playing fields at Maricopa Wells and Desert Wind Middle Schools.

“In essence the fields would become public parks when not in use by the schools,” said assistant to the city manager Paul Jepson, describing the proposed agreement.

Both sites are 20-plus acres with baseball, softball and soccer fields, individual sprinkler systems and access to parking.

Under the proposed agreement, the school district would have first priority for scheduled events or activities, and the city would schedule community events, taking responsibility for opening and closing the fields. The city would also have primary liability.

Funding would come from the city, which budgeted $250,000 for the project for the fiscal year. The upfront costs, $27,150, would be expended for equipment to manage the fields. The estimated monthly cost of $13,400 would include a staff person’s salary, water and maintenance.

Community Services Director John Nixon proposed charging for third party use. “When you charge a fee, you set a value. The fee holds the time for whoever schedules it; with no fee you can just show up any time.”

MUSD board member Tim White questioned charging a fee for field usage when fees are not charged at Pacana Park.

“Where does the money go?” asked council member Marquisha Griffin. MUSD board president Geoff Goddard suggested that for adult community activities the money should go to benefit kids, while council member Alan Marchione felt a more practical use of monies would be to offset usage costs.

Board member Carrie Vargas did not see generating a profit as an issue. “Looking at it from a citizen perspective, recouping money is not an expectation.”

Griffin noted that fee consistency would make usage easier to manage. She added, “With the budget situation being not great, would it hurt to wait 18 months?”

“I think it’s the right thing to do,” said Mayor Anthony Smith, regarding the agreement. “It’s a trial. We can keep our commitment to the community and still test usage.” He added that after 18 months there would be a better idea of the agreement’s success.

Other issues that arose during the meeting included the need for restrooms at the sites, allowing service dogs on the fields, and tobacco and alcohol use. “There is no state law for parks, but there is for schools,” White said, regarding the use of alcohol and tobacco.

Goddard questioned whether the city was ready to commit to the project. “If we agree, there will be commitment, but is this a priority right now?” asked Griffin.

“I was very hooked on the project when we first started talking about this, but we are facing a huge budget deficit,” said Vice Mayor Edward Farrell. “Communication with the school board has increased, and I’m very proud of that, but it’s very possible that it (the IGA) won’t be agreed upon at council.”

“We still have an obligation to the community. We want to open up our facilities, but we have budget cuts,” said Goddard.

“The community needs this and we both have budget issues, but the cost is going up as we talk,” Smith said, noting that there seemed to be consensus that budget issues were the biggest stumbling block to the field usage agreement.

The recommendation was to put the agreement, which was in its fourth draft version on Thursday, on hold until next spring, with the possibility of reopening discussions with the school board after city budget plans are finalized.

Photo by Joyce Hollis