North Ogden council to revisit new park-fee schedule after recreation league warns of program collapse

Representatives of the volunteer-run SWAT recreation soccer program told the North Ogden City Council on Tuesday that a newly proposed parks fee schedule would effectively end their program by raising field-rental costs from about $4,200 per year to roughly $100,000.

The speakers urged the council to adopt one of two alternatives the league proposed: a flat per-player fee of $4 per year (about $7,300 annually for the league) or a flat park rental for a day rather than per-field, per-hour charges. “That would be the easiest. That one would be $4 per kid per year, so that’s $2 per season,” said Darren Rumsey, who with his wife Andrea runs the program for the North Ogden area. Rumsey told the council SWAT serves roughly 1,500 players in North Ogden and about 2,500 across their organization.

Why it matters: The proposed fee schedule—adopted by staff last year and now under review—would change how organized leagues pay for field time and could shift large maintenance costs onto local volunteer-run groups. SWAT leaders said the draft schedule’s per-field and per-game rates would multiply their current rent by an amount they cannot absorb without doubling or tripling player registration fees.

What was said: “Currently, we’ve been paying approximately about to the North Ogden City about $2,100 per season. So it’s approximately $4,200 for the year,” Rumsey said. He told the council that applying the new draft fee to the league’s current usage would increase the seasonal cost “from $2,100 per season to $50,000 per season,” which he said would “increase it from $4,200 for the year to approximately a hundred thousand dollars for the year.”

City staff confirmed the new schedule was intended to standardize rental fees. John Call, the city manager, told the council staff initially borrowed Pleasant View’s approach and that, practically, charging by park rather than by field might be easier for staff and leagues to administer. Call added staff did not want to “kill” any program and said they would bring a recommendation back. “Moving that direction would probably be easier for staff as well to say, hey. For a park, for soccer, we’re gonna just rent it on the per cost,” Call said.

Local practice and risks: SWAT representatives said they reserve parks for their program to ensure space is available for practices and rescheduled games; that system keeps the parks first-come, first-served for other users and reduces scheduling calls to the parks coordinator. They also said their organization carries the $1 million insurance policy the city requires for rentals. Council members asked whether other nearby cities rent parks by day rather than by field; SWAT said Pleasant View uses a park-based flat fee for game days.

Council action: Councilmember Christina Watson moved that the council resume the fee-schedule discussion with a staff recommendation at the Jan. 28 meeting; Councilmember Sebring seconded, and the motion carried by voice vote. The council did not adopt a new fee at Tuesday’s meeting and directed staff to return with a refined recommendation and more options for leagues.

What’s next: Staff will prepare a written recommendation and fee-resolution language for the Jan. 28 meeting; the council signaled it wants to avoid imposing fees that would force volunteer leagues to end, but stressed the city also needs revenue for field maintenance.

Ending: SWAT told the council it is willing to work with staff on a compromise; council members asked staff to analyze park-based versus field-based pricing, the effect on low-cost recreation access, and whether reserved blocks used by SWAT should carry a different rate structure.