The Keizer City Council will be reviewing a task force recommendation on the future of the Keizer Little League Park at its meeting Tuesday, Feb. 18.
In January, the Keizer Little League Park Long-Range Planning Task Force recommended seeking a long-term lease with an outside group to continue operating the park and associated operations. However, there is a stipulation in the recommendation stating that the city would take over management if no suitable lessor is found. (You can read more about what the task force discussed here.)
The this week begins at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 18. There will be opportunity for public testimony. The staff report and formal proposal are available below.
The decision to forward the recommendation was far from unanimous as some members of the task force were, at the time, planning to oppose its implementation.
“I think the reality is the city should have taken over a long time ago. The issues we are dealing with come from only one organization managing the complex,” said Bo Lane, a representative of McNary Youth Baseball (MYB). “Parents would much rather pay $1,000 for a tournament ball team than pay $200 and have to work at the park.”
Leaders in the MYB and Keizer Little League organizations were both involved in the task force alongside city councilors and other stakeholders.
Currently, the city contracts with one of the two organizations for short-term management of the park, but the arrangement has created friction since a schism about a decade ago. The city is seeking a long-term lease to give park operators more incentive to invest in improvements and permit them to take greater control over the future of the space.
