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HomeMy WebLinkAbout12-14-17 Public Comment - E. Nyquist - Bozeman Adult Soccer League FieldsFrom:Chris Mehl To:Agenda Subject:FW: Bozeman Adult Soccer League Fields Date:Thursday, December 14, 2017 2:30:21 PM Chris Mehl Bozeman City Commission cmehl@bozeman.net 406.581.4992 ________________________________________ From: Thom White Sent: Wednesday, December 13, 2017 9:45 AM To: Chris Mehl; Mitchell Overton Cc: Andrea Surratt Subject: RE: Bozeman Adult Soccer League Fields Good morning: First off, I think $10k is a very generous offer to use Bronken this summer- matter of fact, we have never charged any user group anything close to that amount in my time here. Here are my main concerns: After Jamie and I reviewed adult soccer's application, they indicated it would look like 700 adults, playing four nights a week, four games a night, throughout the summer. (Mid-June through the end of August). There is absolutely no time during the growing season for the grass to recover/recuperate. Essentially, adult soccer could offer up any amount of money and it would not be a good investment if we can't keep folks of the field and let the renovation process (aeration, overseeding, fertilizing, supplemental irrigation, etc...) take hold. I assume adult soccer is under the impression their generous fee offer goes directly back to the park for renovation, expenses, etc.... that is not the case, the fees go into the general fund to offset all GF expenses. Additional factors that influenced my decision: Spring:-- Blitzz soccer puts over 1700 kids on Bronken fields from April until the end of June. Games are every Saturday and now on Sunday as well. After confirming with Blitzz, that is 120 games along with 200 practices in the spring. Well over half their season takes place before the grass is actively growing. (Mid to late May). The fields are already beat to heck by the time we start mowing. Summer:- this is the time of year we try and renovate the fields for the fall season, and still provide limited access to soccer (camps) lacrosse and of course, general park activity. In mid-July, we have held the Rhino lacrosse camp for the last 6 years and every year it gets bigger, with an end of camp tournament that has gained in popularity over the last couple of years. Although July isn't the right time of year to renovate , (heat of the summer) it is our only opportunity to do so- if the adults are out there every night as well- there is very little probability in keeping grass on the fields, particularly on those areas such as goal mouths, referee runs and areas out in front of the goals. The bigger athletes definitely contribute to more wear and tear on the fields. Fall:- This is where we really have felt the effects of MSU and their field closures, as the Fall Blitzz group, which used to be up at MSU, had no fields until the City stepped up last fall. We worked with the YMCA and the AYSO soccer groups to share field space at both the softball complex (Sunday games in the fall) and Bronken fields (practice during the week in the fall). All user groups stepped up and really did a nice job cooperating with each other and understanding the dilemma of limited field space. Seeing this as a community issue, we have already met with Melanie Stocks (MSU facilities) and will be meeting next week with Todd Swineheart (BSD7 facilities) next week to discuss the problems above. Melanie indicated MSU's intramural field are closed for the foreseeable future while the artificial turf project on the intramural fields commences and I assume the same from the school district, especially if the stadium project is approved. Melanie did tell us she encouraged the adult soccer group to contact Belgrade as well, as she could not guarantee field space for the group in the future. Sorry for the lengthy e-mail - lot of factors that needed to be explained- thanks- p.s.- This field use decision or "opinion" was mine alone, Jamie had nothing to do with it! -----Original Message----- From: Chris Mehl Sent: Tuesday, December 12, 2017 4:11 PM To: Thom White <TWhite@BOZEMAN.NET>; Mitchell Overton <MOverton@BOZEMAN.NET> Cc: Andrea Surratt <ASurratt@BOZEMAN.NET> Subject: FW: Bozeman Adult Soccer League Fields Hey all, I think the first email went out to agenda so everyone could get a copy. I didn't follow up and now the writer is; thoughts on their question of 10K for using Bronken? Chris Mehl Bozeman City Commission cmehl@bozeman.net 406.581.4992 ________________________________________ From: Bozeman Soccer [bozemansoccer@gmail.com] Sent: Tuesday, December 12, 2017 10:43 AM To: Chris Mehl Subject: Re: Bozeman Adult Soccer League Fields Hi Chris, I know it is a busy time of year but I wanted to check in to see if any conversations have been had and if we can help by providing any additional information. Thanks again, Erik On Wed, Nov 29, 2017 at 11:54 AM, Chris Mehl <CMehl@bozeman.net<mailto:CMehl@bozeman.net>> wrote: Thanks Erik, Appreciate you getting in touch and had heard about MSU closing off its fields. I forwarded your email to other commissioners and staff in order to chat with them and look at options going forward. Chris Mehl Bozeman City Commission cmehl@bozeman.net<mailto:cmehl@bozeman.net> 406.581.4992<tel:406.581.4992> ________________________________________ From: Bozeman, MT [webadmin@bozeman.net<mailto:webadmin@bozeman.net>] Sent: Wednesday, November 29, 2017 9:30 AM To: Chris Mehl Subject: Bozeman Adult Soccer League Fields Message submitted from the <City Of Bozeman> website. Site Visitor Name: Erik Nyquist Site Visitor Email: bozemansoccer@gmail.com<mailto:bozemansoccer@gmail.com> Dear Commissioner Mehl, My name is Erik Nyquist and I am the president of the Bozeman Adult Soccer League (BASL). I wanted to reach out to the City Commission regarding BASL using the City's Bronken sports facility for next year's summer soccer season (2018). We were recently informed by Montana State University (MSU) that we would not be able to use their fields next year due to a new facility being constructed and no user groups (including MSU intermurals) being able to use the fields. This leaves us with few options for next season as there is a current lack of fields in Bozeman. The new Bozeman Sports Park will not be ready for use until fall 2018 at the earliest, and we submitted a request to the Bozeman Parks and Recreation Department (Jamie Saitta/Thom White) to use the Bronken fields. Our request was denied due to concerns of field impacts due to the amount of users and our group being a secondary or tertiary priority for use of City facilities. We understand this concern but would be able to contribute financially to offset those impacts for field upkeep and rehabilitation. We rented fields from MSU for more than $10,000 for our 9-week-long summer season and could contribute a similar amount to the City for field maintenance. We have also looked into using Bozeman Public Schools facilities and fields in Belgrade but these locations would not be able to accommodate our entire league and would create logistics that may limit league participation. BASL has been a long-standing adult activity in the valley with currently over 700 tax-paying, voting participants. I know that you have personally participated in the summer league and hope that experience will prompt you to help us. We are very concerned that if we don't have fields to play on in 2018, the league will suffer and potentially no longer exist. Thank you very much for your consideration and assistance in continuing to keeping this activity an option for Bozeman. Erik Nyquist, President, BASL City of Bozeman emails are subject to the Right to Know provisions of Montana’s Constitution (Art. II, Sect. 9) and may be considered a “public record” pursuant to Title 2, Chpt. 6, Montana Code Annotated. As such, this email, its sender and receiver, and the contents may be available for public disclosure and will be retained pursuant to the City’s record retention policies. 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