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Council approves MOU with Bill Bond League after financial questions; requires documents before execution
Summary
The city approved a memorandum of understanding with the Bill Bond League to lease Roger Scott baseball field, but council members insisted the league provide three years of financial statements and prior IRS Form 990s before the agreement is executed.
The Pensacola City Council on April 9 approved a memorandum of understanding allowing the Bill Bond League to lease the Roger Scott baseball field, but the approval came after lengthy questioning about the league's finances and an ongoing investigation into past accounting.
Steven Clark, who identified himself as the league's president, answered detailed questions from council members about the organization's changed contributions and program-service revenue, an unexplained negative prior-period adjustment and a currently active investigation. Council members repeatedly asked for three years of financials and IRS Form 990s before the MOU is executed.
Council Vice President Breyer and others said the new MOU requires the league to provide prior-year financials and other documentation, and staff confirmed the agreement will not be executed until those documents are supplied. One council member said he would not vote for execution without the 990s and reconciled financials; another council member said the revised MOU is stronger than previous agreements and offered interim assurances.
After debate, the council approved the item on a 5-1 vote. The transcript records the final tally as "passes 5 to 1" but does not list the individual roll-call votes in the public readout.
Council discussion noted the community value of volunteer-run youth athletics and conflicting views on whether municipal departments should resume operations directly, but the decisive issue for some members was financial transparency. Steven Clark told council the league would provide the requested documentation and that the organization welcomed greater MOU oversight.
The MOU will be executed only after the city receives and reviews the league's financial statements and Form 990 filings, per council direction recorded in the meeting.
The next steps are for the league to produce the required records and for city staff to confirm compliance before signing.
