Hill will broker deal on field fees
By Christine Morente
San Mateo County Times
BURLINGAME Assemblyman Jerry Hill agreed Friday to persuade elected members of the San Mateo Union High School District to meet with youth sports and city leaders about field fees. Hill also agreed to facilitate a future dialogue between the groups, after the Burlingame City Council let out an impassioned plea for him to do something. "We can't seem to get a transparent discussion with the board," said City Manager Jim Nantell. "The board has steadfastly refused to meet with city elected leaders." The purpose would be to finally understand the reasoning behind the fees and to come up with a compromise. Hill said during a special meeting at City Hall that he didn't fully grasp the situation before. "These youth groups are going out of existence, and (we are) losing the ability to recreate and enjoy the things we all enjoyed when growing up," he said. "We'll figure some way to dialogue this." In March, the district, which oversees the high schools in Burlingame, Foster City, Millbrae, San Bruno and San Mateo, approved to increase its fees to supplement its budget. In July, rent for softball fields became $22.50 an hour on Sundays. They are expected to increase to $45-an-hour this year. Groups using the football/soccer fields are now billed $27.50 an hour on Sundays. Ken Rhoads, section director for the American Youth Soccer Organization has said that he foresees it reaching $80 an hour in the future. And according to Parks and Recreation Director Randy Schwartz, the district charges 17 hours of maintenance time for a four-hour use of the Burlingame High School's large and small gyms if used at the same time. Nantell wonders if the district is violating the Civic Center Act, which states that all public schools only charge non-profit organizations the direct cost associated with their use. The cities hired an independent auditor to go through the numbers. Vice Mayor Cathy Baylock told Hill she's worried that the sports groups will become an "elitist thing," and those who can't afford to be a part of it all would suffer. "We just want to talk about this," she said. "And ask, 'How do we make this work?'" Meanwhile, Hill told the council that he feels comfortable a solution regarding the state budget will come next week. "There's a realization that we can't cut $40 billion and expect the state to operate in a matter that it can function," he said. "To me, the thought of anyone who has paid their taxes, and has worked hard; and for them to get a delay on their tax refund is an outrageous behavior and something that is intolerable. I think that's why we're seeing a resurgence and willingness to compromise more."
- Written by Joe
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