Lennox Parks and Recreation reviews survey, proposes scheduling and tournament-policy changes

Christie, a member of Lennox Parks and Recreation staff, presented results from a community recreation survey and program feedback at the board meeting. She said the department received 23 responses on flag football and 20 on soccer and that "we had 193 people respond to this survey," reporting interest across age groups including seasonal events, tumbling, and CPR/first-aid sessions.

Why it matters: The board is weighing program changes and clearer policies that would affect dozens of youth teams, volunteer coaches and families, and which could change who pays for tournament travel and how tryouts are conducted.

Christie summarized the flag-football feedback, saying volunteers reported high satisfaction with practice timing but flagged communication problems and equipment shortages (pinnies and belt sizes). "The majority exceeded or met expectations," she said of field-space ratings, while noting one coach called communication "below expectations." She told the board she and new athletic director Casey Shade are exploring scheduling tools (the Bound app and Google Docs) to lock in next season's practice times.

On soccer, Christie said early-season confusion stemmed from field naming problems in SportsEngine that were later corrected. Coaches and parents praised volunteer coaches; respondents suggested clearer pregame directions and better communication around rare doubleheaders for young players.

The board discussed expanding programming. Christie reported notable interest by age: about 118 children in kindergarten–third grade for seasonal or STEM activities, 83 fourth–sixth graders interested in game nights and about 60 for pickleball, and roughly 40 junior-high students interested in CPR/first-aid instruction and open gym. She emphasized that survey interest does not guarantee turnout: "these numbers we have to take for what they're worth," she said.

Policy topics under review included field scheduling, T-ball timing, coed divisions, USA Softball registration, tournament-cost coverage, neutral tryout procedures and a jersey-return process. On scheduling, Christie proposed moving some T-ball dates later in the summer (for example, starting in late June) to free Sundays for other sports; board members generally supported testing a later window to reduce weekend conflicts for families.

Regarding USA Softball, Christie said younger recreation teams this year did not register through USA Softball; registering would allow participation in state tournaments and may add insurance benefits. She said she is awaiting clarification from the South Dakota USA Softball commissioner and Linda (the association contact) about roster rules and midseason roster changes.

On tournament funding, the board discussed whether the city should cover state-tournament costs (for 10U, 12U and 14U) while leaving other tournament costs to parents or team fundraisers; several members supported covering state-tournament expenses but recommended parity between baseball and softball.

Board members debated how to select tournament teams. Several favored a neutral third-party assessment for tryouts to limit perceived bias, with the option to include coach feedback after the evaluation. For jerseys, Christie proposed replacing a deposit system with post-season billing for unreturned jerseys (a $25 fee after reminders); the board expressed support for a clear check-in process.

No substantive policy votes were taken at the meeting; routine procedural votes did approve the agenda and minutes, and the board adjourned at the meeting's close. Christie said staff will draft proposed policy revisions and return them for discussion at the next meeting.

Next steps: Staff will prepare a redlined policy draft (scheduling, tournament funding, tryout procedures and jersey inventory), seek clarifications from USA Softball, and bring proposals back to the board for formal adoption or amendment.