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Coaches, parents tell Forest Park council canceled rec-center practices are disrupting youth programs
Summary
Coaches and volunteers said they were told practices would be canceled for the rest of the recreation season; the city manager said staff will investigate and report back.
Three coaches and residents raised concerns at the Feb. 3 meeting about canceled practices at Forest Park recreation facilities and problems with logistics at off-site games.
Lester Turner, a volunteer coach at the Forest Park Recreation Center, said the program had been told "there will be no more practices for the rest of the year" though teams were only two games into the season. "With only practice, you literally can't get the message across, not just about basketball, just about life, resilience," Turner said, asking the city to provide alternate gym space so teams can continue practices.
Dr. Falami (transcript spelling appears as "Filami" in another line), also a volunteer, said parents were demanding refunds because they felt they were not receiving the services they paid for. He described facility problems during recent games at a partnered high school gym — no visible clocks and difficulty for coaches to manage games — and said communication with staff had been poor: "My parents are calling me because whomever they spoke with here allegedly told them to talk to the coach," he said.
Resident Laverne Mitchell also spoke about how to contact the city during a ward vacancy and asked whether candidate biographies for upcoming elections are available online; City Manager Clark responded that candidate materials are posted on the city's site but the city does not publish campaign materials directly.
Response and next steps
City Manager Clark thanked speakers and said he would gather additional information from staff and provide a comprehensive report to the governing body; he said he was "not aware either" of the situation and did not want to respond without getting all sides. Council members, including Hector Gutierrez and Latressa Akins Wells, emphasized the importance of recreation programming for youth development and asked staff to convene meetings with coaches and parents to resolve the issues.
No formal policy change or refund process was adopted at the meeting; staff will follow up and return findings to the council.
