Lowell board adopts tournament fee schedule for city fields, sets $225 daily rate for natural turf

The Lowell City Parks & Recreation board approved a new tournament fee schedule for city fields, adopting a $225 per field per day fee for non‑synthetic (natural turf) fields and a $1,500 per field per day fee for synthetic/turf fields.

The vote follows months of discussion about how to define “tournament,” how to balance local youth access with outside users, and how to recover city costs for extra services such as trash pickup, custodial overtime and special lighting. Board members directed staff and the law department to draft ordinance language reflecting the schedule and to return with any remaining cost details for review.

The board’s action formalizes a multi‑part approach intended to keep fields available for Lowell residents while charging higher rates for organized, non‑local, revenue‑producing events. Board member Keith Rudy presented a proposed definition that the board discussed and used as the starting point: “the tournament's a series of games or contests with at least 3 competitors that make up a single unit of competition in an invitational event that charges a fee to participate,” he said. Rudy’s proposal also recommended language allowing the board to waive or reduce fees for certain local nonprofit organizations and programs.

Why it matters: The fee schedule is intended to recoup city costs that tournaments can impose on parks (trash, custodial overtime, extra utilities and field wear) and to preserve field availability for local youth leagues and residents. Board members debated two broad philosophies — setting higher fees to limit outside tournaments and preserve availability, or setting lower fees to encourage tournaments and generate revenue — and settled on a compromise that raises fees while keeping a waiver/reduction mechanism for local, Lowell‑based organizations.

Key decisions and next steps

- Non‑synthetic fields (natural turf): the board approved a tournament fee of $225 per field per day. The meeting record shows a motion and a roll call vote that carried; the transcript does not record a roll‑call tally by name.

- Synthetic/turf fields: the board approved a tournament fee of $1,500 per field per day, with the board agreeing that the rate should be reviewed annually.

- Trash removal/disposal: the board approved a $200 per park per day fee to cover end‑of‑day trash removal when tournaments require pickup beyond routine city service. The board discussed that parks with permanent dumpsters receive regular pickup and the $200 fee is intended to cover additional weekend tournament needs.

- Custodian/maintenance overtime: the board set a custodial fee of $200 per four‑hour block if a tournament requires custodial overtime or other scheduled staff beyond normal hours.

- Lighting/electrician fees: the board kept a light‑fee structure in draft but directed staff to confirm electrician/lighting costs with facilities staff (Shannon) and return with a recommended electrician/hourly charge and any technical changes; that electrician fee was deferred to the next meeting for final adoption.

- Insurance: board members discussed requiring event organizers to provide commercial general liability insurance naming the city as an additional insured; a $1,000,000 minimum was discussed as customary, but the transcript records this as discussion and recommendation rather than a separately recorded formal adoption.

Waivers and local‑use carve‑outs

Board members debated carve‑outs and waiver standards at length. The board agreed to preserve flexibility to reduce or waive fees for local youth organizations and nonprofits that demonstrably serve Lowell residents; members asked staff to draft precise waiver criteria for the ordinance (for example, proof that a defined percentage of participants are Lowell residents or that a nonprofit is based in Lowell). The board discussed alternatives (automatic 50% nonprofit discount, sliding discounts tied to percent of local participants, or an application/petition process) and asked staff to include recommended language and administrative procedures in the draft.

Staff direction and timeline

Board members asked that all proposed language and fee figures be assembled into a draft ordinance and sent first to Parks staff (Peter Fatticante), then to the law department for review, and returned to the board and subcommittee for final action. The board also agreed to an annual fee review tied to the fiscal year (review date: July 1).

Ending

The board’s adopted schedule is now the basis for formal ordinance drafting and council consideration. Staff will return with finalized ordinance language, a confirmed electrician/hourly cost for light activation, and clarified waiver criteria before the fees are sent to the City Council for any required ordinance changes.