HOISINGTON — The Hoisington City Council Monday night decided in favor of fairness Monday night when a question of whether and how much to charge for lighting at the baseball fields was introduced.
“For many years, the City of Hoisington has charged the Hoisington Recreation Commission,” City Manager Jonathan Mitchell said. He described a partnership where they paid $2,500 for the use of the ball field complex.
The fee was intended to recover the city’s costs for utility consumption and maintenance of the lighting system. Use was limited to games only, and the recreation teams were diligent in their effort to minimize the amount of electricity they used. Practices were planned around available daylight, further keep costs in check.
Then, last year, two traveling teams used the lights for practice, and the city failed to charge them for the use.
Recreational users saw this as unfair, Mitchell said. Still, the traveling teams asserted there are other facilities, such as the city’s tennis courts and basketball courts, where users can access the lights for free. The argument, however, is not apples to apples, council members argued. Those lights are set to strict timers and use less electricity, and are meant for use by the public at large.
City council member Chris Smith contacted the neighboring communities of Russell, Ellsworth and Great Bend and inquired about their policies on use of lighting during baseball practice. Both Russell and Ellsworth disallow it, Mitchell said. Great Bend allows lights to be used for practice, but charges teams $18 an hour for the privilege.
The City of Hoisington offered to allow the traveling teams an opportunity to use the fields without lights, or to pay $15 an hour for their use during practice.
“The teams did not appreciate the change,” Mitchell said. One representative asked to be added to Monday night’s agenda, but was not present at the meeting. “The fairest thing to do is charge everyone or no one.”
Council members Darren Reinert, Jim Morris and Carrol Nather weighed in. Reinert asked for a ballpark cost of light bulbs for the system, and it was estimated the 1,000 Watt bulbs cost around $40 or more to replace, and outside labor is required to change them due to height of the poles. Nather said charging for use is necessary; otherwise teams would abuse the privilege. Morris pointed out with the time change, it stays light out longer, and he questioned why practice would need to continue past 9 p.m.
The council indicated by consensus its support of Mitchell’s decision to have the city charge the $15 an hour, to be charged in half-hour increments.
Ducks Unlimited thanks city for support
Representatives of the local chapter of Ducks Unlimited were welcomed Monday night by the city council. The City of Hoisington donated $10,000 to the organization recently. Kim Schneweis a local member, spoke briefly, thanking the City of Hoisington for support of its recent initiative to raise funds for a renovation project at Cheyenne Bottoms. She presented a numbered print of an exclusive Ducks Unlimited wildlife painting to Mayor Dalton Popp, accepting it on behalf of the city.
“Any money we bring in will be matched three times with the Pittman-Robertson Act,” Schneweis said. Work at Cheyenne Bottoms is expected to begin soon, she added.
