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Council defers Heartland Cricket League park‑use agreement to clarify 'exclusive use' language
Summary
The council voted to defer a five‑year park‑use agreement for the Heartland Cricket League to the June 2 meeting after members raised concerns that the contract's exclusive-use language differed from other youth and adult sports agreements and could limit public access.
The West Des Moines City Council on May 19 deferred a proposed five‑year park‑use agreement with the Heartland Cricket League to the June 2 meeting so staff can revise inconsistent language about exclusive use and ensure parity with other sport groups.
Council members and Parks and Recreation staff said the current draft would give the league exclusive use of a field every Saturday from mid‑May through Oct. 1 and priority for weekday practices, which some council members said was broader than agreements the city has issued for softball, soccer and rugby. Councilman McKinney said he wanted the agreement’s wording made consistent with other similarly situated sport groups to avoid treating one organization differently.
Ryan Penning, Parks and Recreation director, explained the draft language arose because two different cricket organizations already schedule the same fields: Heartland Cricket League and the Iowa Premier League. The exclusive wording, he said, was intended to prevent the two cricket groups from conflicting over practice and game slots. Penning said staff can rework the language to mirror recent rugby and softball agreements so scheduled games and published season schedules have priority but the public is not permanently excluded from park space when it is unused.
Council members asked that the revised draft clarify how annual schedules will be published and enforced and that the agreement not prevent ad‑hoc public use when no scheduled games or practices are posted. Councilwoman Hardman said these partnerships let the city provide programming residents use without taxpayer operation; Councilman McKinney emphasized consistency across agreements.
Council also asked whether the Parks and Rec Advisory Board should re‑review the modified language; staff said the agreement grew from a longstanding cricket presence at the parks (the transcript references an initial arrangement dating to 2005) and that Heartland’s and Premier League schedules are already staggered in practice. The council voted to defer the item to the June 2 meeting for revised language and review.
