More park rental fees? Not quite yet

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A bit of dissent caused the Maricopa City Council to put the brakes on new fees at its parks facilities at its Feb. 3 meeting.

Marty McDonald of the Maricopa Dukes Baseball League protested the proposed rental rates, calling them “obscene and excessive.” He said the prices attached to renting a field, a home run fence and other necessities for playing a game would have a team shelling out $300 before a pitch is thrown.

McDonald challenged the cost of labor put forth by the proposal and said his organization was willing to put in sweat equity to put up the home-run fencing and chalk the baselines themselves.

The new fees were vetted and approved by the Parks, Recreation and Library committee last year before being posted for public feedback in November.

Councilmember Bridger Kimball said the council should have had a work session on the proposal before having to decide. He said the fees can add up to “quite a bit of money” for a double-header.

“This is definitely something that we probably should have been debating before,” Councilmember Henry Wade said.

McDonald said a lot of the fee made sense, like a towel service fee, but others would be unaffordable.

Wade suggested putting the decision on pause for 30 days to give the PRL board a chance to look over the fees again and bring in all teams and leagues that use the playing fields at Pacana Park and Copper Sky.

Community Services Director Kristie Riester said her department had done its due diligence in gathering information to settle on the proposed fees.

As proposed, the towel service would be $3 per person or $5 per couple for residents, and $4.50 and $7.50, respectively, for non-residents. Room rental would be $10 an hour for senior groups, $20 an hour for nonprofits and $30 an hour for everyone else. A $100 deposit would also be required.

The home run fencing would be $125 per event per field with a $200 deposit. The bases permit is $5. Additional staff time would cost $35 per hour.

Rental of the small parking lot would be $150 per day for residents. The large parking lot would go for $500 per day. The dog park could be rented for $50 an hour up to a $500 maximum, and the skate park would be $100 per hour up to $1,000 maximum.

Pacana Park lake could be rented for $100 an hour with small ramada rental. Copper Sky lake could be rented for $100 an hour with great lawn or group ramada rental. The concession stand at Pacana Park could be rented for $10 an hour with $100 deposit.

Under current fees, Pacana’s small ramada rental is $10 hour, Copper Sky’s group ramada is $50 an hour, and the great lawn rents for $50 an hour.

Councilmember Peggy Chapados reminded the council the debate started in November, when there was “ample opportunity for the public and council to weigh in.” She said the fees were well thought-out.

Though Vice Mayor Marvin Brown proposed tabling the issue because of the disagreement on the rates, he said stakeholders could have been involved in the issue months ago. “We shouldn’t be tap-dancing on these issues tonight,” he said.