Council amends fee schedule to waive nonprofit field rental rates after Little League appeal; staff to issue refunds

The Liberty Lake City Council on March 4 amended the city’s 2025 budget ordinance (Ordinance 308a) to set nonprofit ball-field and outdoor-sports-field rental fees to $0 for the 2025 season, and to keep the field-preparation fee at $75. The motion passed unanimously, 6-0.

Why it matters: The change responds to a request from Liberty Lake Spokane Valley Little League, which told the council the league serves roughly 600 families and relies on reasonably priced field space. The league said a steep fee increase this year would force higher player dues or reduced registration and could threaten inclusion programs such as Challenger divisions for players with disabilities.

At the meeting, Adam Cochran, coach coordinator for Liberty Lake Spokane Valley Little League, described the league’s operations and field needs and said many neighboring cities charge little or no municipal fee for comparable baseball diamonds. “We need the Liberty Lake Fields to make baseball happen in our area,” Cochran said, noting the league sometimes must limit registrations because field space is the limiting factor.

Council action and details: Council amended the fee schedule so that the two nonprofit rental line items for “ball field rentals” and “outdoor sports fields (nonprofit)” read $0 for 2025. Council also adopted a limit of up to six hours per day for field use under the waived nonprofit rate and kept the game-prep fee at $75 per field (staff had previously charged $20). The council recorded its intention that staff would issue refunds to nonprofit groups that already paid under the previous schedule; staff estimated those refunds at about $3,800.

Council members said the change is a temporary, stop-gap measure to address an immediate hardship and to allow staff time to develop a fair, long-term fee policy for all users. Council member Gunn called the move “a good one” and Mayor Pro Tem Cargill described it as “showing good faith.” Several council members said they expect staff to return with a revised fee-setting approach for 2026 that will consider volume discounts, no-shows, and equitable access across nonprofits.

Operational notes: The city’s recreation scheduling software is handled by staff; Parks staff will continue to charge game-prep fees when staff performs field preparation. Some leagues offered to perform field prep themselves, but staff noted potential liability and maintenance requirements.

Vote and next steps: Ordinance 308a, as amended to set the nonprofit ball-field and outdoor-sports-field hourly rates to $0 for 2025 and to retain a $75 game-prep fee, passed 6-0. Staff will implement the fee change, issue refunds to eligible nonprofits and return to council with a comprehensive proposal for sports-field fee policy for 2026.