West Des Moines, Holiday Park Baseball Can't Agree How to Operate Boys' Programs

West Des Moines Parks and Recreation is looking for a new partner to operate its youth baseball program after cancelling its agreement with the nonprofit Holiday Park Baseball Club Inc.

Parks and Rec Director Gary Scott said the city wanted “more control over operations” at the city-owned facility, which Holiday Park Baseball Club has leased for the past five years. The current agreement expires Dec. 31.

When it became apparent that the baseball club would not agree to the new conditions, which Scott said had mainly to do with upkeep and maintenance of the fields, officials decided to make arrangements with an outside vendor to operate the boys’ Little League program in 2013, Scott said.

He declined to offer specifics about the points of contention between the city and nonprofit group, but said the city wanted “a stronger link” so it could be more responsive to the public when and if problems are reported.

At the same time the city was seeking oversight and control over programs on city-owned property, the Holiday Park Baseball Club wanted “more independence,” Scott said. “We proposed a number of changes, but knew we were not going to come together.”

The city successfully renegotiated a five-year lease with the entity operating the girls’ softball program, West Des Moines Girls’ Softball Inc., which accepted the new conditions, Scott said.

Little League players and their families likely won’t notice much difference in the program next summer. Scott said the city’s goal is to make the transition as “seamless as possible.”

Next spring, the city will solicit proposals from other organizations or businesses to operate the program for youth baseball services in Holiday Park for 2014 and beyond. This new agreement will run for at least five years and will represent an opportunity to improve the level of service to the community for youth baseball, the Parks and Rec Department said in a news release.