Board OKs baseball contract with Boys & Girls Club

SILOAM SPRINGS — City directors unanimously approved a contract with the Boys & Girls Club of Western Benton County to run the youth baseball program during their Feb. 7 meeting.

The Boys & Girls Club will provide youth baseball this year instead of the Siloam Springs Youth Baseball program, which has provided baseball for children ages 4 through 18 in previous years, Community Development Director Don Clark said.

The Siloam Springs Youth Baseball program’s lease for James L. Butts Baseball Field was set to expire Saturday, Clark said. The proposed measure will be a stopgap aimed at giving the program the chance to regroup so it can return next season.

The Boys & Girls Club will run the baseball season for ages 5 through 12 with the city working with the Siloam Springs School District to put together a plan for ages 13-18, Clark said.

“City staff has been contacted by members of the public about expressing concerns about instability within the [Siloam Springs Youth Baseball] organization and the quality of the service offered, amongst other things,” Clark said.

City staff requested financial reports from the organization in October but did not receive a timely response, Clark said.

Director Betsy Blair asked if the city ever received financial reports. Clark said the city did eventually receive a financial statement from Siloam Springs Youth Baseball but not an audited financial report the city asked for. Clark did not say when the city received the statement.

Director David Allen asked if the city requires a certified audit from other organizations. City Administrator Phillip Patterson said they do not require such an audit for other service contracts like the American Legion or Main Street Siloam Springs.

Patterson also said when the lease for the ball fields was renewed two years earlier the provision for an audit was included in the lease the board approved.

“It’s a requirement in that lease … I assume because of the money collected and the money going out,” Patterson said.

Allen also asked if the Boys & Girls Club would mow the fields like the Siloam Springs Youth Baseball organization did. Clark said Siloam Springs Youth Baseball had its own equipment to mow the fields, but the Boys & Girls Club does not, so the Parks and Recreation Department will take care of the fields.

Blair said she heard Siloam Springs Youth Baseball had a meeting Jan. 13, during which it was stated the program was ready to go for the season, but during a follow-up meeting on Jan. 19, the city proposed that the Boys & Girls Club take over.

Clark told her on Jan. 3 he received a phone call from an individual who said he was coming to take over youth baseball.

Clark did not say who the individual was but said he and Parks and Recreation Manager Travis Chaney met with the individual who said he would be establishing a new 501(c)3 organization.

“So we we agreed to some particular terms. His stance at that meeting was that it was an opportunity to kind of rebrand youth baseball,” Clark said. “And so we talked about a very similar agreement that we’re doing with the Boys & Girls Club, a temporary situation.”

Clark said he wasn’t at the Jan. 14 meeting but that after the meeting the individual reached out to Clark and said he was no longer involved. Residents also reached out to Clark about Siloam Springs Youth Baseball running baseball during the season, he said. Clark attempted to contact the group, asking to meet with them before the meeting on Jan. 19, but he received no response.

It was decided that Clark would go to the meeting to talk to representatives of Siloam Springs Youth Baseball because the group’s lease was coming to an end and the city has not heard from anybody, Clark said.

After deflecting questions that Clark said he didn’t think were relevant to the city, he threw out his proposal for the Boys & Girls Club taking over youth baseball.

Clark said he received several emails from residents and told them that, rather than respond to emails, he suggested they could meet in person. Clark met with the people who had emailed him and everyone appeared to be on the same page as they proceeded down this path, he said.

PUBLIC COMMENT

Several residents spoke in favor of the Boys & Girls Club. Kathleen Dziedzic, one of the residents who spoke, said she came to Siloam Springs in 2016 and became involved with Siloam Springs Youth Baseball. She spoke of the frustration of getting people to volunteer to help.

“It breaks my heart that people don’t want to step up like I did in a brand new community and run this league,” Dziedzic said.

Dziedzic also said she was afraid the Boys & Girls Club would permanently replace Siloam Springs Youth Baseball as the coordinators of youth baseball and that All-Star, Babe Ruth and Cal Ripken teams would not be available through the Boys & Girls Club.

Allen and Blair picked up on this and asked Boys & Girls Club Executive Director Chris Shimer about the matter. Shimer said the Boys & Girls Club did charter Cal Ripken and All-Star tournaments but no other youth baseball program in Northwest Arkansas does.

“If we have All-Star teams, they have to travel to South Arkansas,” Shimer said. “… there have been ongoing discussions about … what can we do to get to help get our kids competitive in those areas?”

Most programs in Northwest Arkansas are participating in United States Specialty Sports Association, another youth baseball league, Shimer said. Director Ken Wiles asked if Shimer was planning on chartering with the association.

Shimer said the Boys & Girls Club has looked into what it would take to charter with the association. Wiles said he did not have a problem with the Boys & Girls Club taking over youth baseball because it’s all about the kids, but Wiles also said he still had a glimmer of hope that Siloam Springs Youth Baseball could pull it off.

Following more discussion, the board voted to approve the contract with the Boys & Girls Club.

The board also approved and heard the following items:

• Dedication of utility easements and right-of-way for 22384 Davidson Road.

• Dedication of utility easements and right-of-way for 3001 Waukesha Road.

• Dedication of utility easements for 1510 E. Main St.

• A resolution regarding a special use development permit for 413 S. Madison St.

• A resolution concerning a special use development permit for 731 E. Cypress Court.

• A resolution regarding a special use development permit for 617 S. Maxwell St.

• A resolution and budget amendment in the amount of $10,839 for David Bailey to continue serving as prosecuting attorney for the city.

• The purchase of a 2023 John Deere 85G Excavator from Stribling Equipment in the amount of $140,891.

• Placing an ordinance regarding the vacation of a drainage easement for the 500 block of U.S. 412 West on its second and third reading and then taking a separate vote to approve the ordinance.

• A resolution concerning significant development permit for 1993 East U.S. 412.

• A resolution regarding a preliminary plat development permit for the 3000 block of East Kenwood Street.

• A resolution concerning a carbon reduction program grant application from the Northwest Arkansas Regional Planning Commission for the Elgin Street sidewalk extension.