Simmering tensions between the City of Scotts Valley and youth sports leagues over proposed fees hikes boiled over during the April 2 regularly scheduled Council meeting when a girls softball coach teared-up providing public comment.
Alexandra Sklar, co-director of Scotts Valley Trouble Fastpitch and board member of Scotts Valley Girls Softball, said she was tapped to step up to the civic plate and deliver a letter to Council because most of the other reps were at Siltanen Park coaching.
“There’s a lot of good stuff happening in this meeting tonight, and a lot of talk about community,” Sklar said. “If you were to go out to that softball field tonight—or Saturday—you would see what that means in Scotts Valley, and what those girls are building…we would not be here if we didn’t think that was completely at risk.”
Last year, Scotts Valley adopted a slate of new park rental fees. Now it’s planning to roll out changes to how youth sports leagues are charged for using City fields.
Sklar said a City official told them to expect to pay around $22.50 per hour of field use, instead of $14 per player. According to their calculations, that works out to a hike of $20,000.
“Between our two organizations, we use over 1,000 hours of field time a year,” Sklar told the Council. “Fundamentally, it would put our program out of Scotts Valley. We would need to move and disperse the program.”
When asked after the meeting about the concerns expressed by the softball administrator, City Manager Mali LaGoe told the Press Banner it appeared some volunteer recreation officials weren’t totally up to speed on the fee modernization Scotts Valley wants to introduce.
“The league organizations that use the fields for such long…periods of time—over an entire season—for practices and games and all that; they don’t pay the same fees that are in the fee schedule that the Council adopted last year,” she said. “I think there’s some confusion with them, and thinking that they’re going to be subject to those fees in the future.”
LaGoe said she’d be happy to follow up with the leagues to clarify any murky waters.
“This year, for the 2025 season, they’re being charged the same rate they have (been charged) for many, many, many years,” she said. “It nowhere covers the cost and the impacts of them on the City facility. But we’re also not looking to cover full costs by what we charge them, because it’s such a great service they provide to the community. So, I’m sure we’ll be able to resolve this misunderstanding and move forward together.”
During public comment, Sklar addressed the supposed misunderstanding.
“I have been told today that there’s misinformation in this letter that I’m giving you,” she said. “And I’m here to tell you we would not have gone to this trouble…as kind of our last resort, if that were true. We fully believe in this…the City Manager has invited us to a meeting to discuss the issues we’re having. What we are asking of Council is, as you’re reviewing your budgets, to please keep in mind the information here and the pressure that Park and Rec fees are putting on our youth organizations.”
Steve Vignato, vice president of Scotts Valley Little League, said if the City goes ahead with a $22.50 per hour field rental rate, they’re looking at a total cost of around $44,000.
“We wouldn’t be able to have a league,” he said. “Right now, there’s been no negotiations or agreements of any kind.”
They were paying $13 per kid for years, Vignato noted.
“There was years where they didn’t even charge us,” he said. “They just kinda waived it.”
More recently, they’ve been paying $14 per player to use the City fields at Siltanen. They don’t have to pay anything to Scotts Valley Unified School District to rent the adjacent Vine Hill Elementary School diamonds, though under their agreement, they’re required to maintain the fields year-round.
Vignato said this costs about $500 each month, but gives them more control over the quality of the playing surface.
The Press Banner reached out to the SV/SLV Soccer Club for comment but did not receive a response by deadline.
Deeper Issues
In an interview, Sklar said the issues between the leagues and the City run much deeper than the rental price. For one, there are maintenance issues the City isn’t addressing, she said.
“Scotts Valley is not resourced or staffed to maintain a softball field,” Sklar said. “For 40 years it’s been like that.”
A pair of photos viewed by the Press Banner shows garbage and recyclables—including empty Smirnoff bottles—sat on the sidelines from at least Feb. 27 to March 6 this year. And now, Sklar added, the City has been making it more difficult for their volunteers to work on the field themselves.
John Marlow, a longtime girls softball coach who was supporting Sklar at the meeting, said providing playing opportunities for younger girls is key to their athletic development.
“Where do you think the softball players that play at the high school come from?” he asked rhetorically.
Sklar said the softball league is a great way for girls to gain a sense that they have a stake in their own community.
“It’s one of the best things that they can do as kids,” she said, adding her own daughter has experienced the spin-off benefits from playing the sport. “All we want to do is provide that opportunity.”
Last Wednesday, Kelly Weaver, president of Scotts Valley Girls Softball, spoke to the Press Banner while walking her dog through one of the Siltanen Park softball fields.
Weaver couldn’t help but notice the two dozen or so holes left by ground critters in one outfield, she said, adding the City recently told them to buy a machine to take care of the problem.
“We went ahead and purchased one,” said Weaver, noting it cost $3,800. “It’s now sitting in my garage because we were told we can’t use it.”
Weaver is more than a little annoyed, as the fields were donated to the City in the first place by her friend’s father.
Last year the City told them they couldn’t sell hot food at their snack shack. This year, they were instructed to cart their stuff in and out of the concession every day they used the field—County health rules were cited.
“When I inquired, the County wanted to charge us $800 to view the site,” said Weaver. “And I said, ‘We use the snack bar two months out of the year. The City should pay to have that place reviewed.’ And the City refused.”
Sklar said it’s created a sense of inequity among the girls, since their snack shack now only has basic items, while the Little League concession—on school district grounds—has a much more robust menu.
“The girls are really upset about it,” she said. “They feel ‘less than,’ because their snack shack went away and the boys have a really fabulous one.”
On Wednesday, Weaver told the newspaper both Little League and SV Softball reps were set to join a meeting with City Manager LaGoe on April 25.
