The spate of recent reporting on Middletown's soccer fields, here and elsewhere, has got me asking questions. Here is my list:
1. In response to an outcry on the part of residents, the mayor and the city took action to preclude the spending of bond money on artificial turf in 2015. It is no secret that the residents opposed artificial turf in general, not just the expenditure of city funds on it. What is the current position of the mayor and members of the Common Council on this matter? Have they changed their minds?
2. At issue has been the lack of sufficient playing time for the needs of youth soccer players. This is an important point. Why haven't solutions to this problem been found in the years that have gone by since the issue was raised? Or do solutions exist, but they are just not preferred by the soccer organizations?
3. It seems that the Middletown Youth Soccer organization is spending its own money on the new artificial turf field at Country Club Road. Its 25-year lease with the city also obliges it to "diligently pursue the construction of" improvements such as lighting, bleachers, and pavement. So why is the city now taking responsibility for these improvements? The appearance is that the city is indirectly installing artificial turf by taking over Middletown Youth Soccer's other financial responsibilities.
4. In 2016, Middletown Youth Soccer had half a million dollars in the bank, and was accumulating money at a good clip. How wealthy would a sports club need to be to be held to the terms of its lease?
5. Why is the city complicating the situation further right now by proposing puzzling changes to the way fields are made available to teams, including Middletown Youth Soccer?
For those who are interested, let me add a little more information to bring my questions into sharper focus.
1. Noisy opposition to artificial turf occurred in 2015 after it became known that, at the
recommendation of consultants, the city was proposing to float a bond to create nine artificial turf fields in the city. Some didn't want their children playing on artificial grass; some opposed the use of ground up tires on public health grounds; some noted the environmental impact; and some were opposed to the additional expense of maintaining artificial turf fields. The city council was split in its response, but with the additional vote of the mayor, mention of artificial turf was dropped from the bonding initiative. At that time,
Mayor Drew said
...we can build more grass fields than turf fields to meet demand and do so for less money. These changes will do three major things that will benefit our community:
1. Save the taxpayers $3.5 million in bonded debt.
2. Give us up to six additional playing fields, which Milone and Macbroom says will meet the capacity needs of our leagues.
3. Enable us to ensure that all fields are grass and that they are properly constructed with appropriate drainage and irrigation systems that will make the maintenance process easier and less expensive in the long runWe will have more grass fields for less money, ensuring that our parks bond is environmentally and fiscally sustainable while meeting and exceeding the needs of our community’s sports leagues.
That sounds pretty convincing. It has been understood since then that none of the proceeds from that bond would be used for artificial turf. Is that just a technicality that now must be worked around? If so, what changed? The
minutes of of the Public Works Commission certainly make it seem as though the ordinance language is just a nuisance that must be circumvented.
2. Given the above, I really don't understand why there isn't enough playing surface in Middletown for all the Middletown soccer teams that want to play. Not only did the city secure bond money, with the mayor's pledge to create additional natural turf fields as needed; in addition, in its 2011 lease with the city, Middletown Youth Soccer agreed "At such time as Parks and Recreation will need to maintain additional fields for for soccer above the current number of 23 [sic] fields, then MYS will negotiate a reasonable contribution towards maintenance costs...." So it seems that adequate natural turf was provided for in 2011 and 2015. What happened?
A look at the
2019 calendar of Middletown Youth Soccer shows heavy use of the fields on Country Club Road and very little use of those on Long Hill Road. Is that because the latter are heavily used by other soccer groups, or just because MYS prefers the Country Club Road location? As you can see from the sign at the top of this post, the city seems to think these are Middletown Youth Soccer's fields even though they barely use them. They are certainly more conveniently located for the majority of Middletown's residents than the far-flung Country Club Road fields, out near Route 91, yet they are dramatically underutilized.
Is it because those fields present themselves poorly at present? On March 13, the fields on Long Hill Road were under snow, but the approach to the fields looked like this:
As an aside, I note that there is silt fence that seems inadequate, resulting in erosion that looks to be in urgent need of attention:
3. In July 2011, the city
leased the soccer fields at Country Club Road to Middletown Youth Soccer for $1 per year for 25 years. The lease states
In exchange for a 25 year lease, MYS will diligently pursue the construction of the following improvements:
- Install lighting on soccer fields on Country Club Road
- Fencing all around four fields
- Construction of Restroom Facilities
- Installation of a Scoreboard
- Installation of Bleachers
After seven and a half years, have
any of these improvements have been completed? Why is the
city taking over responsibility for them now? Middletown Youth Soccer has exclusive rights to the fields, granted in their lease. No one else is permitted to use these fields on the city-owned property of Smith Park.
Also interesting to note is that MYS
received a state grant in 2010 in the amount of $150,000 for precisely these improvements.
Despite all this,
MYS has now broken ground at Country Club Road on a new artificial turf field.
4. In 2011, Middletown Youth Soccer was able to get the city to
appropriate $355,000 to complete its unfinished soccer fields on Long Hill Road, citing "financial strain" as the reason it could not complete the project without the city's help. But just three years later, MYS had more than this amount on hand, and in 2016 it had more than a half million dollars in the bank. Interestingly, that is equal to the sum of the state grant and the city's appropriation to complete the Long Hill Road fields.
Middletown Youth Soccer is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization, so unlike POTUS, its tax records are
publicly available, at least for the years 2013-2016, with some information available for 2010-2012 as well. They show the following dollar amounts:
| year |
revenue |
revenue less expenses |
cash on hand |
| 2013 |
575,239 |
72,343 |
171,900 |
| 2014 |
821,003 |
177,602 |
360,082 |
| 2015 |
890,889 |
79,497 |
454,436 |
| 2016 |
976,535 |
76,773 |
506,245 |
With a nest egg of $500,000+ that is growing by more than $70,000 per year, MYS appears to have the resources to deliver on its contractual obligations.
5. The city is proposing to completely
redo the way ball fields are made available to the public, with a three-tiered system to be put in place. The second and third tiers will be required to have 60% of their membership be city residents, but not the highly prioritized first tier, which includes Middletown Youth Soccer. Why? It is rumored that the matter will be taken up at the Monday, 1 April Common Council meeting, but as of this writing, no agenda has been posted.
As you can see, I've got questions, and I would really like some answers. Perhaps a knowledgable individual or city official who sees this post can provide them. I am sure some readers are thinking, "you just don't understand!" You are right. Help me out.
