Cordova residents push back on a proposed fee for Little League and the Iceworm Swim Team

A Little League father and a former swim coach spoke against a proposed fee on Little League and the Iceworm Swim Team at Wednesday's Cordova City Council meeting, and one council member said the two groups shouldn't be charged at all.

At a work session last week, council members backed charging nonprofits 25% of the city's rental rates for facilities like the pool and ball fields, starting in 2027, with one member opposed. They took no formal vote. It would be the first fee either group has paid to use the pool and fields. In April, the council voted 7-0 to waive Little League's field and snack shack fees for this season.

City staff valued Little League's use this year at $6,644 and the swim team's most recent season at $38,880. A 25% share would be about $1,660 and $9,720. Council Member Kasey Kinsman called the swim figure "the top end," saying use will be lower now that the pool is short on staff.

Sherman Powell, a gillnetter with two kids in Little League, called the city's $6,644 figure "shocking." The city's April estimate, more than $4,100 for labor and about $1,200 for water and dumpsters, has grown since without a new breakdown, he said. He said the labor list for the fields includes picking up dog poop, weed whacking and cleaning bathrooms, work he suggested parents, scouts and other volunteers could help with.

"I don't believe children's sports should be seen as a revenue source for the city," Powell said. He said he knows Cordova has money problems, but he worried the nonprofit discount would become "low-hanging fruit" the next time the budget gets tight. He asked the council to bring in the Parks and Recreation Commission and the Little League board.

A former Iceworm swimmer and coach said coaches used to work as lifeguards during the team's 6:30 am practices, so the city didn't have to staff the pool. He put the team's likely fee at about $10,000 a year. "There's no way they can do that," he said.

The city's proposed 2027 budget puts the pool's cost at about $515,000, including $161,000 for heating oil, against about $74,500 in revenue. Kinsman said last week that whatever nonprofits don't pay is covered by "the taxpayers of our community."

Pool user Molly Whitcomb wrote the council that any outside group closing the pool during her usual time, nonprofit or not, "should be required to pay for monopolizing those slots."

Council Member Wendy Ranney said she understood that the parks and recreation budget presented Wednesday didn't include the 25% charge and seemed to work. Little League and the swim team shouldn't be charged, she said.

Council Member Mike Mickelson asked whether the council could fund requests like the swim team's later if the city ends up with more money than expected. Staff said it could, through a budget amendment.

Staff will present the full fee schedule Nov. 12, and the council is scheduled to take up the budget and fees Dec. 2. Last week, members also agreed that swimmers would no longer need to buy an annual pool pass to join the team.