Monroe City Council approves 2025 park use for youth baseball and soccer, sets summer movie dates and reviews park-rules draft

The Monroe City Council approved permits allowing the Monroe Sports Association to use Community Park for baseball and Crossing Park for soccer during the 2025 season, set three summer outdoor movie nights and discussed a draft update to the city—amp nd recreation rules that would add limits on commercial photography and consider restrictions for drone use.

The baseball permit was requested by Matt Haddix, president of the Monroe Sports Association. Haddix told the council the association has invested in field improvements in recent years, including about $18,000 in infield dirt across four fields, drainage repairs to Field 2 and outstanding drainage work needed on Field 5. He also said the group had installed an outdoor batting cage, replaced concession-stand flooring and repaired a batting-cage roof. "We're starting to build a relationship with [regional professional teams and partners]," Haddix said of outreach the association has made to larger clubs and organizations to support local events.

Councilmembers moved and seconded the permit and approved it by voice vote; the motion carried after the council called for all in favor to say "aye." No individual vote counts were recorded in the meeting transcript.

The council separately approved a permit for Monroe Sports Association soccer to use Crossing Park for the 2025 season. The soccer representative, Joel (surname not specified), told the council the association spent about $10,000 on seed at Crossing Park and described an ongoing partnership that provides pathways for players and coaches to higher-level academy opportunities. Joel also noted an upcoming Monroe Soccer Night tied to a professional club match on April 22 and discussed logistics for center-circle kids participating at the game.

During both sports presentations council members and staff discussed recurring operational issues: volunteer burnout among association board members, occasional damage to dugout walls, field scheduling conflicts when non-affiliated groups use the park and the need to post practice schedules or a bulletin board at the site to reduce disputes.

Park staff told the council that nonprofit sports leagues must carry commercial general liability insurance with limits of no less than $1,000,000 per occurrence and $2,000,000 aggregate, and that the city must be named an additional insured on certificates of insurance. Staff said moving away from mandatory Little League affiliation this year will save the baseball program roughly $3,500 in premiums, while the association—ontinues to carry a separate policy with Miller Insurance.

Council members also approved three Saturday evening dates for outdoor movies at the park: June 14, July 12 and Aug. 9. Movie titles under consideration include Despicable Me 4, Wicked and "Mona 2" (as listed in the draft schedule); staff said they will confirm title availability with the movie vendor and return updated scheduling details to the council. The motion to approve the dates passed by voice vote.

The council spent the latter portion of the meeting discussing a draft update of the park and recreation board's rules and regulations. Topics raised by council and staff included commercial photography and filming (concerns about photographers monopolizing park space), whether to prohibit or permit drones and how to enforce any drone restrictions, how broadly to state compliance with existing city ordinances across all park uses, and whether to list specific reservable facilities (pavilions, athletic fields, meeting rooms) or use broader language so future facilities do not require reauthorization.

No formal action was taken on the draft rules during the meeting. Council members and staff directed that the document be reviewed further, including legal review where appropriate, and returned to the council for final approval at a subsequent meeting. Staff said specific language on enforcement and fees, and whether to require permits for drone or commercial filming uses, would be developed with legal input.

The meeting closed after routine administrative items and a motion to adjourn passed by voice vote.