Woodbury Approves Policy Changes For Youth Sports

Starting in 2012, Woodbury will only allow one in-house youth athletics association to use fields for free under a measure the City Council approved Wednesday.

The idea behind the effort is to make the allocation of fields easier and more fair, said Jodi Sauro, the city’s recreation supervisor.

She hopes the Woodbury Athletic Association (WAA) and East Ridge Athletic Association (ERAA) can come together—as they did for Little League baseball—and find a solution that makes the process easier for parents and removes guesswork about choosing which group a child should be involved with.

“At age 5, it should be about the experience,” she said. “As a recreation professional, we just want the kids to play.”

Still, some who spoke at a public hearing Wednesday said the city is limiting choices for parents and could potentially exclude some children.

Cathy Eudzyn said she was concerned how the city would choose which association would be recognized. Residents have eight companies to choose from for garbage service, she said, and it’s good to have a couple of options for youth sports.

Sauro said she expects the WAA and ERAA will work out a plan so the city doesn’t have to choose between the two. If it comes to that, the process will be open and transparent, she said. The groups must have their plans submitted to the city by Nov. 15.

Councilman Paul Rebholz said the city has finite resources to dedicate to field maintenance and isn’t trying to choose sides. Athletics are a big part of the community, he said.

“We’re not trying to limit choice,” Rebholz said, adding later: “We should be having fun with our recreation programs.”

Following the comments from residents, Councilman Christopher Burns made a motion to table the resolution about the field-use policy, saying the council should take time to digest the input from residents. The motion died for lack of a second, and the council eventually passed the resolution 3-1, with Burns against. (Councilwoman Amy Scoggins was absent.)

Just because the city recognizes one athletic association for a sport, it doesn’t mean the other group would be excluded from using the city’s fields, only that it would have to pay a fee to do so, Sauro said.

Another part of the policy is that each sport is granted a specific part of the spring-fall season, Suaro said, and those groups that want to have multiple seasons for a specific sport would have to pay a fee.

Once the policy is implemented, Suaro said she thinks it will be easier on parents. She also expects the WAA and ERAA to find a way to work together.

“They’re getting there,” she said.