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Council invites youth sports groups to discuss new school fees after organizations warn of costs
Summary
A resolve asking the council to invite affected youth sports organizations for a meeting was recommended favorably after representatives said recent school‑department rental fees would increase costs for volunteer nonprofits; the committee heard examples and asked city leaders to coordinate fee policy across departments.
The Finance Committee recommended favorably a resolve asking that representatives from the Brockton Blazers softball organization and other affected community youth sports groups be invited to a council meeting to discuss the impact of recent school‑department fee changes.
Al Basler, speaking for the Brockton Blazers, told the committee that the school department initially proposed a $20‑per‑day rental fee for use of the Raymond School field; the Blazers said the organization uses the field roughly 210 days per year and that the proposed fee would have amounted to roughly $5,000 annually. Basler said school officials later agreed to a 75% reduction in the proposed fee, bringing the per‑day charge to $5 and cutting the group’s expected annual cost to roughly $1,000.
Erminio Furtado, who runs local soccer programs, urged the council to address broader field conditions and access: he said many fields are degraded, turf is limited and community teams often host games outside Brockton because of cost and facility condition. Several councilors said Parks Commission and School Department fee policies differ and asked for a coordinated approach.
Councilor Darren Court, speaking from the dais, questioned whether the Blazers had received bills in the past; Basler said they had a permit each year but had not previously faced a rental fee for field use. Councilor Rodriguez described a separate case in which a nonprofit summer program was billed approximately $66,000 this year and, after negotiations, paid about $19,000 — testimony that underscored councilors’ concerns about consistency and the cost burden on nonprofits that run youth programs.
Councilors urged the parks commission, school department and other city agencies to work together to minimize costs for youth sports organizations. The committee recommended the resolve favorably to the full council.
