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City council approves renewal of DeBary Babe Ruth agreement; league to help fund dugouts
Summary
The City of DeBary unanimously approved a multi-year renewal with the Babe Ruth league and heard that the West Volusia Athletic Club will fund the majority of new dugouts. Council also approved the consent agenda earlier in the meeting.
The City of DeBary City Council voted unanimously on Feb. 19 to renew its agreement with the local Babe Ruth baseball league and approved the consent agenda earlier in the meeting.
Parks and recreation director Jason Scheidz presented the renewal and said the city is in the third year of that agreement and “No changes this year.” He described a long-standing relationship with the league and noted the league’s financial support for planned dugout replacements.
The nut graf: The renewal continues the city’s existing partnership with the West Volusia Athletic Club (the Babe Ruth league) and funds for two dugout projects at Keller and Sullivan fields are expected to be paid largely through league sponsorships.
Joe Zubel, president of the West Volusia Athletic Club, told council the league raised sponsorships and will contribute the majority of funding for dugout improvements. “This past year has been an amazing year. It’s been my first year as president … and we’ve made a lot of adjustments to just how we operate,” Zubel said, adding the league plans scoreboard sponsorships and other fundraising to finish remaining dugouts.
Councilmember Sowell moved to approve the 2023–2025 DeBary Babe Ruth agreement renewal and a second was recorded; council members voted yes without recorded opposition.
Votes at a glance:
- Consent agenda (items 1–3): motion made and seconded; Councilmember Papalardo, Councilmember Veil, Councilmember Stevenson and the mayor voted yes; outcome: approved. Details of individual consent items were not specified in the transcript.
- 2023–2025 DeBary Babe Ruth agreement renewal: motion to approve moved and seconded; Councilmember Sowell, Councilmember Papalardo, Councilmember Stevenson and the mayor voted yes; outcome: approved.
Council members and league representatives encouraged public attendance at opening-day events and thanked volunteers. No amendments to the agreement were reported during the meeting.
Separately, during council reports and the city manager’s update, the manager said the city’s ECHO grant application was approved to support a planned pickleball-court project, listed at $220,000; the transcript indicates a matching contribution described as “a 10 from the city, and a 10 from the county” but did not clearly state whether those were percentages or dollar amounts. The manager said the ECHO grant award will be before county council on March 18 and that budget considerations will follow.
The council did not take separate action on the pickleball or other capital updates during this meeting.
