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After heated debate, Colts Neck trustees negotiate blended fee deal with sports foundation
Summary
A contested update to the district's facilities-use fee schedule — intended to recover custodial, utility and administrative costs — prompted a public apology from one trustee and months of committee work; trustees later met with the Colts Neck Sports Foundation and agreed on a blended discounted contract and regular liaison meetings.
The board's discussion of an updated facilities-use fee schedule dominated the later portion of Tuesday's meeting.
Trustee Angelique Cameron said she regretted and asked to rescind her December 17 vote approving a revised fee schedule, calling her vote a mistake made without full review and apologizing to the community for unintended consequences. "Sometimes an idea appears sound on paper, but the real impact becomes clearer once the ripple effects are felt," she said.
Other trustees defended the panel's process and said the schedule was the result of months of committee work, market research and attempts to account for rising custodial, utility and infrastructure costs. Finance co-chair Jason Rico and buildings-and-grounds chair Kevin Walsh said prior schedules had not been updated for more than a decade and that the revised schedule aimed to cover costs rather than generate profit.
The disagreement led board leaders to meet with the Colts Neck Sports Foundation. Trustees said that follow-up talks produced a "blended" schedule and a discounted arrangement for the foundation that preserves access while reflecting the district's custodial and facility costs. Board leaders said the foundation's rate was grandfathered through June 30 and that a formal contract will memorialize the new terms.
"We were able to come to the negotiating table and give an amazing discount to those foundations," said a board official following the meetings. Trustees also agreed to quarterly check-in meetings with the sports foundation to coordinate scheduling, fees and facility needs.
No board action to rescind the December vote was taken at the Feb. 4 meeting; several trustees said the original fee schedule remains the board's adopted policy but that staff and committee chairs will implement negotiated exceptions and formalize them with a contract and administrative procedures.
The board emphasized its fiscal responsibilities and said the revised fee schedule ensures custodial staff and building costs are covered. Administrators and trustees also pledged transparency about future fee adjustments and to add language in policy documents clarifying that a separate facilities-use fee schedule is maintained and periodically reviewed.
Next steps: administration and the buildings-and-grounds committee will finalize a docu-signed contract with the Colts Neck Sports Foundation reflecting the blended schedule and will post policy clarifications about fee schedules on the district's policy platform.
