A Kick In The Grass
Or in the wallet, to be more precise, as Mecklenburg County commissioners unanimously approve a massive rate hike for fees to rent athletic fields. How massive? Try nearly 90 percent in some cases. This from WBTV:
The cost of renting athletic fields under the lights at county parks will jump from $22.50 an hour to $42 an hour. The cost of renting fields during daylight hours will go from $12.50 to $17 an hour.
Several folks who run leagues in Mecklenburg say the rate increases could have a severe impact on people’s ability to play.
“Less usage, less participation, just less people playing in general,” predicted Sportslink co-owner Christian Crute about the rate increase.
Crute says between six and eight thousand people play every sport from softball to kickball with his company. He says he’ll be forced to pass the rate increase on to them — and it could run around $120 or so per team.
County officials say a price jump is appropriate because the fees Mecklenburg currently charges, even after a similar price hike last year, still lags what other municipalities around the state and region charge. And, um, oh yea, park and recreation officials say they need more money. Wants more money might be more appropriate.
So are the new field rental fees yet another hidden tax hike to hit a targeted segment of the population, or just an appropriate cost adjustment by county government?
Or maybe, and here’s a wild thought, should county government look for ways to reduce its administrative and maintenance costs outside the fields and use those efficiencies and savings to curtail, or altogether avoid, yet another fee increase?
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