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Council approves $5-per-tier rental fee increase for Deerpath athletic fields; asks for future tournament guidance
Summary
After a year of use, the council approved a $5 hourly increase per tier for Deerpath athletic field rentals to help build a replacement fund; the council asked staff to return with more detailed tournament proposals before allowing large multi-day events.
The Lake Forest City Council on April 21 approved a $5-per-tier hourly increase to rental rates for Deerpath athletic fields for the operational year beginning August 2025, voting 8-0 on the staff-recommended mid-range option.
Director of Parks and Recreation Michael Wicht and program manager Anthony Anasiewicz gave a year-one utilization and revenue report showing Deerpath fields hosted substantial programming and generated rental revenue roughly in line with projections. Wicht told the council the staff recommendation would put the city on a path to reach its field replacement and maintenance reserve target in about 11 years under current assumptions.
"We feel that we achieved the goal of balancing reserved usage on the fields while also allowing open space for community open play," Wicht said, noting that none of the four park quadrants exceeded 75% utilization by design to preserve open play availability.
Council discussion focused on balancing affordability for affiliate youth organizations with the long-term replacement goal for the artificial turf. Aldermen said a full-range, top-tier increase would impose an abrupt 30'plus percent jump for some affiliates; multiple aldermen favored a modest, predictable step rather than a large one-time increase. Several aldermen asked staff to return with a multi-year outlook and to re-evaluate replacement cost assumptions in a mid-term (five- to six-year) review.
On the subject of tournaments, staff requested direction about whether the city should permit limited, small-scale tournaments as a trial and pursue larger regional events in the long term. Council members asked for a concrete proposal and timeline before approving regular large multi-day tournaments, noting many tournaments are booked a year or more in advance. The council did not authorize a specific tournament schedule at this meeting but signaled willingness to consider limited pilot events with minimal disruption.
The council also authorized staff to reconvene a subcommittee to recommend a simplified fee structure, sport-field improvement fees and dynamic-pricing options for council consideration in a future multi-year plan.
Minor details: staff reported year 0 and 1 combined revenue of roughly $203,000 (slightly above earlier estimates of about $199,000). The staff model used a 3% annual escalation for long-term replacement-cost modeling and assumed a 10-year warrantied life for the turf when projecting target reserves.
