By Robert Haugh
At Last Tuesday’s City Council Meeting, the Santa Clara City Council voted 4-3 to adopt a municipal fee schedule and repeal the fees for non-profit youth sports groups that use City facilities.
That’s about $115,000 in annual savings for groups like:
- Santa Clara Lions
- Santa Clara PAL
- Santa Clara Swim Club
- Santa Clara Youth Soccer League
- Westside Little League
Here’s the vote supported by Mayor Lisa Gillmor and Councilmembers Anthony Becker, Raj Chahal, and Kathy Watanabe.
Councilmembers Suds Jain, Karen Hardy, and Kevin Park opposed.
Then Becker got confused.
After most of the public had left the Council chambers, including representatives of the youth groups, he asked for a reconsideration of the vote.
Then Becker changed his original vote and he ended up opposing the decision to give the youth sports teams a fee waiver.
Wow.
“I feel I want time to figure this out,” said Becker. “Because it seems like we have a lot of back and forth that I’m not really sure anymore.”
Double wow.
Gillmor said that the reconsideration vote was done late at night and after the youth group supporters had left City Hall thinking they had received fee waivers.
In response to concerns about losing revenue for parks and rec facilities, Gillmor and Watanabe suggested using the majority of the City’s portion of the Levis’ Stadium naming rights revenue of $200,000 to pay the youth sports group fees.
But the 49er Five were not supportive.
The new municipal fees will be effective July 1, 2024, including the youth sports groups facilities fees.
Unless Becker changes his mind again.
[…] Vice Mayor Anthony Becker initially voted with the Council majority to waive the fees. […]
How is this ‘reconsideration’ option not a Brown Act violation? I’m no expert but this option allows the council to hear how all others will vote, then adjust based on what they heard. This seems just so fundamentally at odds with notion of not allowing votes/tallies in private. Here it’s just public but the ability to change votes is the same.
And without a public notice? I’m stunned. Someone needs to check Becker’s private phone texts
Dear Community,
Everyone is missing the point.
Instead of using your voice to comment, use your VOTE.
BUT…..
You can not do it alone!
You must bring together leadership from each City Council District as a UNITED ASSOCIATION OF NEIGHBORHOODS.
YOU must make sure that you can not be split – because City Hall knows – Divide and Conquer very well.
Remember, their words sound sweet, but there will be a sour taste in your mouth if you do not ride this Santa Clara Bucking Bronco for the full ride.
You do not want to be thrown in the end.
This is my opinion.
Thank you for consideration.
In Community Spirit,
Danny Garza
Ironworkrdanny@yahoo.com
Buchser Alum,
I sure hope you weren’t in my Class. These fee will bankrupt the two Little Leagues in our city within three to four years. Not only will the City of Santa Clara be charging fees but also the Santa Clara Unified School District. These two entities are being advised by a professional staff that gets its hairbrain ideals from the League of Cities and others. It is estimated that Briarwood-El Camino Little League and Westside Little League will each spend an additional 18K to 25k per year to purchase the permits for game fields and practice fields. It is not sustainable. Santa Clara has a very storied youth baseball history, and it is sad that in a very short time there will be no youth baseball….the mighty Anthony Becker has struck out!
Dan,
I do not know why you want to make this a personal thing when all I have said is that there are no easy answers to this and that it seems fair if Santa Clara groups have to pay expenses that are similar to what groups in other cities have to pay.
How do the proposed fees compare to the fees that little leagues need to pay in neighboring cities like Sunnyvale? How much do they break down to per player?
Okay, here is a reasonable response trying to find a solution to help community especially youth sports teams:
“In response to concerns about losing revenue for parks and rec facilities, Gillmor and Watanabe suggested using the majority of the City’s portion of the Levis’ Stadium naming rights revenue of $200,000 to pay the youth sports group fees.”
Why are we not surprised at this response?
“But the 49er Five were not supportive.”
This picture reminds me of The Godfather. Becker makes an offer the 49er 5 can’t refuse. Screw the youth sports teams.
My own personal conclusion? Anthony Becker hates children, and their families. As well as anyone else who voted against this.
Kevin,
I do not think it is helpful to make this a black and white issue in which someone either hates children and families or values them. The city is in a budget crisis and it makes budgetary sense to consider charging fees in line with what other cities charge for use of facilities. It makes policy sense to waive these fees as a public service but then the foregone revenue needs to come from somewhere and that would be either a cut in other services or increases in taxes or other fees. There are no easy answers in this.
Hmmm. Well, there’s that $500k+ that Suds Jain wasted on the fake elected chief campaign. That certainly could have helped. And how much money did the city lose when the 49er 5 sold out the city in the settlement agreement for 30 pieces of silver? Hmmm.
Upset Little League Parent,
I think that it would be a good idea for the police chief to be appointed instead of elected but I would not argue against seeing the cost of the referendum being a waste of money because it was obviously going to fail.
But if one is going to point to that cost then one can also point back to the cost of litigating against district council elections and trying to reduce the number of districts. That cost two or three million if I recall correctly.
The budget problems are everyone’s fault and everyone’s responsibility. And if Santa Clara charges youth groups fees that other cities are charging then I do not see why anyone is upset about that.
Buscher Alum, you must have been the inspiration for “if i only had a heart.”
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This may be a smoke screen to take away the attention of some other, bigger piece of mischief.
How does keeping resident kids off of the fields benefit the city?