Mud Dogs Help Is On The Way
Submitted by ELISA on October 19, 2009 - 6:40pm
Hello Mud Dogs I went to bat for you so to speak. I used your blogs to speak before The City Council. The city said they had no idea your baseball field had a problem. The only problem they knew of was the drainage problem on your fields. They are going to look into it and take care of you so what do you think of that? I am happy for you. I will blog more to you in the morning. xox
- ELISA's blog
- Login or register to post comments
Comments
I would like to thank Elis for getting the ball rolling on our "fields of dreams" I would alo like to thank the city officials that came out to listen to us. The changes haave already started to be made. I also would lie o thank the parents that came out to be heard also. All in all I think it was a productive sitdown. The city has many hurdles to overcome and we as parents understand that. Our voices have been heard. Now itis time to see thefrui o all ofour labors. Yes winter is comming and there is ging to be a slow down due to the weather. Come spring time we will be working on contracts to care for the parks that we use to play and practice on. As for the QCBA? There are meeings comming up and questions ar going to be asked.
1. Why can't our leagues have playoffs?
2. Where does all the fundraiser money go?
3. What can we d to help?
4. How can we better advertise to bring in more coaches to have moe teams?
5. How can w up the competition levels in our league ?
Does anyone else find yourselve typing and this site can't keep up with you?
Again I want to thank everyone that has posted and for all that showed upto the meeting and last I apologize to all I may have offended on here or on the day of the meeting. I have a tendency to be very type A. When I see something or set my mind on something I get very focused.
Newdogg
Lots of questions on here of me. I will try to answer them all. Newdogg, QCAA has had playoffs in the past. With the growth of USSSA and the state tournaments many teams do not want to have a playoff in the league after the State Tournament. The division that the Muddogs played in had 3 teams. A playoff would require everyone to want to play after the season was over. The season did not end until July 10th. Many of the teams had problems with fielding a roster this late, let alone running a week later to run a playoff. In the past when we tried to put this together most every team said no as vacations were more important to most parents. If one of these teams did not have an interest in playing the Playoff that you are referring to becomes a 2 team tournament. Throw in the cost of medals or trophies for winning a tournament (expected by participants) and the money that is left in the account for the league suddenly becomes a negative.
Fundraiser money goes towards paying for equipment (uniforms, baseballs, tees, trophies for the t-ball division, pitching machine reapairs/replacements, etc.), insurance for the players and coaches, umpires, field preperation, Coaches clinic, accounting fees, Not for Profit registration, raffle prizes, turface for field prep, USSSA fees, storage trailer, phone, po box, fliers for registration and other printing costs for paperwork needed by coaches and the league. No Board Members are paid with the exception of the umpire reps and the treasurer. Both of those positions are paid based on the number of games/checks that they are involved with. Typically the treasurer makes around $600 a year for all of the checks they write and the hours they put in for taxes and audits. The umpires get a fixed fee based on the number of games that they schedule umpires for. This is usually around $1500 a year. All of our finances are public information, audited by an accounting firm for accuracy. The candy bars that are referenced in this blog and questioned every year is easy to explain. We purchase the candy bars for 50 cents. The players sell them for a $1. That means that for 160 candy bars, QCAA receives $80. That with the registration fee gives the league $100 per player in upper divisions. T-ball pays $60, MP pays $80 and everyone else pays $100 per player. If you were to look at costs, the upper divisions cost more in umpire fees. Many calculations have been done to come up with this fee structure to put the costs where they need to be. QCAA is also right in line with Fort Osage, Blue Springs and Oak Grove. Also, every player that registers gets a QCAA T-shirt. This shirt costs anywhere from $5 to $6 dollars depending on size. Each year we also purchase materials to try to aid in drying of the fields. This year we spent $11,500 on turface to level out the fields that were boxgraded improperly. This material, like in years past was tilled under by Parks and Rec after the season was over. With 752 kids in the league, we generated $69,165 in fundraiser, $13,900 in registration fees. Expenses of the league were $100,000. One must remember that the registration fee is reduced for multiple children and in some cases eliminated all together for kids that meet the hardship requirements. Everyone does the fundraiser regardless.
QCAA also runs 3-4 tournaments every year where the Board Members donate countless hours of their time to get them completed. Without these tournaments, the league would operate at a loss. This year tournaments generated $16,000. The league finished with a final register of $610. This means that league fees do not cover all of our expenses.
What can people do to help? That is a multi-faceted question. The Parks and Rec department does not allow parents or board members to work on the fields. They have many reasons for this but the biggest is their concern of untrained people working on the fields and making them worse. I would agree with them to a point. You can make the conditions worse if you go out an drive equipment on the field when it is wet. If someone were to really want to help, then get involved with the league. Volunteer your time and get to understand the whys and wheres of how things get so complicated. To begin the process of joining the board of QCAA only takes a phone call to the league. 816.796.4003. They will explain the rest to you. Many people do not understand the costs of the league, the processes necessary to get it going nor the demands placed on an organization of volunteers from all groups involved.
How can we advertise to bring in more teams/coaches? Not sure how to answer that one. In ten years I have witnessed many attempts. We send fliers through the schools. City ordinances restrict advertising on the streets. Ads have been placed in the Kansas City Star and the Independence Examiner. Short of renting a billboard I am not sure that we don't do exactly what Pop Warner does. We have allowed coaches to bring in teams from the outside. Typically this occurs at the lower levels. They tend to come in for 1 maybe 2 years and all they seem to do is take the better players from the teams and then go out and play tournaments only. This only frustrates those that have been coaching kids for years and then they tend to quit. How do we get more coaches? We work the ranks of this every season. The problem with this area tends to be in the lower levels, not in Bantam, Midget or Junior. All of the leagues involved in our interleague seem to be struggling here. The number of players available for teams tends to be falling with the rise of soccer and the inclusion of summer football and basketball. Kids are not given one summer activity choice like they used to get in the 70's and 80's. We offer a coaches clinic that is taught by the High School programs every season. This clinic is intended to help the beginner coach to improve practices and their knowledge of the game itself. I personally have had to deal with parents and coaches who do not understand the game. Sadly, some are only there for the benefit of their own child.
Upping the competition level of the league would require more kids to play and work at the game (less x-box on their own time) and a little more training and repetition from the practices put out by the coaches. There is no magic potion to get more kids to play. That is an effort required by the parents as well as the children. You would be amazed at the requests on the registration forms for teams that only practice one day a week and no weekends so that the parents can go to the lake and not interupt their schedules. Practice fields are given to coaches on average 2 nights a week through the league. After that, the remaining field time is open through Parks and Rec on a first come first serve basis. The sky is the limit if a team wants to improve their skills. There is very little that the league can offer to improve the want to of the teams. Adding more teams is something that QCAA is very open too. It doesn't make any more money as the number of games goes up thus increasing the costs. On average it costs $1200 per team to offer them games through the league in the upper divisions.
QCAA is above board on all expenses. I for one know how much I have put into this league in time and money (gas is not free for travelling to and from meetings). I have never been paid for anything I have done for the league. I also know as a past President of this league that nobody else on this board profits from the fees paid in by children. Just setting the record straight. It is obvious to me that nobody knows the cost of everything needed to operate this league. The cost of everything needed goes up every year. We spend many hours taking bids on items looking for the lowest cost that we can find.
This isn't about the Mud Dogs, however, it is about the city parks. My daughter plays soccer at the new park on Salisbury and for some reason, that extremely new park has drainage issues as well. Her game the week before last was cancelled because the field had flooded and I just got a call about an hour ago from the coach saying the game for tomorrow was cancelled as well.
What gives with the fields especially new fields that have drainage issues?
ummmm......well all i have to say is you get to use the park, and missing a few games here and there, we've been dealing with this for years now, WE LOVE MILLCREEK PARK, don't see why there is not more support for a park so close to the Truman Lib. or Valle Mansion, both historic sites for Independence would.nt It be nice for people who come to visit to see how pretty Independence is compared to that of KC and some others. I would it would draw my attention to things like that. Dwood87, there's been times where it rained and we didnt get to play our baseball game for weeks after due to the fields. All parks money are going out there on the new park so what gives.......
mushmouth12
That's what I'm saying, what gives. The new park was opened last year or this year (this is the first year we've gotten to play soccer there) and it's already having issues. It's nice and all, but I would think it being brand new they would pretty much be done with it. As I'm always telling my kids, if you don't have time to do something right the first time, when will you have time to do it right a second time? And in this case, money as well.
Ask Mr. Urfer the hard question here. Why is drainage an issue at the new facility? There were many gaffes during the building of this new facility. Several times the fields had to be relocated and dirt moving was re-done. This was due to issues with the thickness of the ground above the caves in one instance. One of the law suits that they are dealing with has to do with water draining into a storage area and destroying product. Each time that things were done again cost them money and set the project back. The first thing that was reduced to cut costs was the drainage system.
There was also an issue with storm water runoff that the system could not handle in that area of town. The solution was to lower the playing surfaces so that runoff was not as "big" an issue. This means that the water will settle on the fields. Poor planning in some respects.
The number of restroom facility/concessions was reduced. The number of baseball fields was reduced to 2 in the initial phase with room for 2 more later. They couldn't get grass to grow so the open date kept changin. In their haste to use the facility they allowed the Frisbee Golf Championship several years ago to play after rains and the grass was destroyed delaying the grand opening by a year.
There are a lot of questions that people should be asking about this new facility.
Dwood87 The City of Independence has a way with hiring people that must not know what they are doing. What other reason could you come up with? Sorry to hear your daughters team has had to miss out on playing in the park. xox
As a side note, I have personally talked with Parks and Rec through Eric Urfer (and Bob Belote, past Parks Director), Mayor Stewart, Mayor Reimel and City Council Member Lucy Young concerning issues at Mill Creek Park. They are aware of the issues beyond the drainage. There have been many conversations concerning a face lift at this park. Bob Belote's original plan called for flipping field #3 around to have the backstop at the concession area, moving fields #2 and #4 to add parking and creating a new small field like field #5 in the grassy area to the south of field #5. Additional parking was to be added around the street area as well as extending the parking lot on field #3. All fields would get new dugouts and backstops.
All or part of this plan is now waiting for funding. I believe the earliest date I was told this could happen would be in 2012.
The Board of QCAA has presented many issues to the City from no restrooms for fields #4 and #5 without crossing parking lots or streets, lips on infields, uncovered storm drains, holes full of water around fields #1 and #2, mounds of rock around field #2, lack of lighting on the playground area, dugout fencing falling down, trash not being emptied often enough, runoff of dirt from the fields, lights burned out, grass growing up around fence lines.......To say they didn't know would be inaccurate and the End of Season Reports would show otherwise.
We all want to compare Mill Creek Park to Fountain Bluff in Liberty, Adair Park (run by KC Parks and Rec) and Legacy in Lee's Summit. Simple fact is that there is no comparison. All of those parks are closed down after games are over and entry into the facility is next to impossible. Not so in our parks. Do we want the park to be locked down, only available to kids who can afford to play in a league? Fountain Bluff and Adair Park have dedicated staffing for maintenance. Independence Parks and Rec does not have a budget for that. Just some thoughts.
"Do we want the park to be locked down, only available to kids who can afford to play in a league? "
Strange you ask this question because I as a early teenager was asked by Independence's finest in blue to stay off the fields at Mill Creek because they were reserved for the high school teams and they didn't need to be torn up by recreational play.
Maybe it's different now or maybe I and my buds were singled out by the police on their bad days? Who knows for sure. I'm no worse for wear either way.
The park gates are opened and closed at "curfew" by those finest in blue that you refer too. The rest of the day the Park is open to anyone that wants to use it. The only time that people are "ran off" is when the fields are lined for games. Groups such as QCAA can reserve the fields during a set time. We share with the High Schools. Any time that the fields are empty they are fair game to the public.
Many of the ideas that have been bounced around to help with rainouts and beautification are squashed because nobody can figure out how to keep people off of a public park. I for one don't think they should. QCAA ran into many issues with getting fields ready for play because people would use the fields for homerun derby after a rain and made a mess of the fields.
My only point to all of this is that people keep referring to other facilities as a benchmark. Other city governments have no issues with locking up parks and telling people that they can't use them. Our city government is frightened when anyone comes in and complains of being a taxpayer and wanting to use a facility. With the addition of the playground at Mill Creek Park it is my understanding that everyone will have access to the park during curfew. Sante Fe Park is a whole other issue. They built a skate park in an area that is not easy to view from the main roads. Much of the vandelism that occurs there started AFTER this skate park was put in place. Just the other week I witnessed a group of teens burning stuff in the bbq grills to stay warm. It was a great idea, bad location.
I totally agree with you on most of what you have shared with us, I would like to tell you I have watched the Monday Night Council meeting on TV 7 the parks Department said that this was the first they have heard of the problems with our little field of dreams at Mill Creek, Who do we as the community believe??? My family and I have been in the QCBA for 7 years now and we've enjoyed the umpires as well as the board you all have done a great job running the program and the Muddogs wanting to see more parents get involved with coaching and give back to the community instead of complaining and sitting there watching our kids go down a long bad path in life, when all they had to do was get involved and try to keep several kids off the streets and involved in something like QCBA or IYAA, and even Pop Warner. If this sales tax increase passes and Parks Department gets this estimated 4 million where will it go if we don't have parents standing up and asking what about this park and this one, It matters to me what happens , My son has at least 2 years left to play in Queen City and then we'll move on to Legion, I really would love for Mill Creek to get it's face lift before we leave the league.
We admire your commitment and dedication you have showed and instilled in the QCBA!! Thank You so much on behalf of the families and teams in QCBA.
mushmouth12
I can't make you believe anything that any person has to say about this topic. What I can tell you is that I spent 10 years talking with people about issues at this park and others. I had a meeting with Lucy Young at a Denny's, met with both Mayors in their office, talked to Park Directors in person, by phone and through email. I have a letter telling me that I was not allowed at Mill Creek Park or Sante Fe Park because I chose to work the fields myself to try to get baseball games in. I, along with one other Board Member, spent the better part of 4 months replacing rotting wood on dugouts, painting, repairing fencing, pouring steps to dugouts etc. The league funded the materials. In the end, when we got our refund from the matching grant program, we donated it back to parks and rec so they could purchase a wham-a-dyne level for their box grader so that they could crown the fields after every fall season and reduce the number of rainouts. Many good people have had discussions with Parks and Rec during my time and before. These issues have been around forever. They have been addressed and answered by those with control of the Parks each and every time. Whether or not a City Council Member knew or not I cannot answer. My line of communication was with Parks and Rec.
As you can see by the User Agreement that I posted parts of, the Parks Dept is responsible for most repairs to the Park. QCAA is only allowed to hire a person to drag, line fields and put out bases. That was it. All we could do about anything else was to pass the requests on to the proper channels. Doing anything without permission was not an answer as I had already had to deal with being banned from the parks once before.
There is so much history here that you are all unaware of. Parks and Rec has not maintained Mill Creek or Sante Fe as they should have. I am also quite certain that they did not anticipate all the other "chores" that have been thrust upon them in the past 7 years or so. Their budget does not have the means for a giant face lift at Mill Creek Park. Over-runs at other facilities as well as vandalism costs have kept many things from being started. Heck, nobody has played a baseball game at the new complex on Salisbury yet and I have been invited to TWO grand openings out there. They have told me that a face lift at Mill Creek will occur in 2012 when they have money from the Parks Tax. Not before. I couldn't tell you how many times that I have been told "next year". You can't put the blame directly on Parks and Rec though. For every one of you wanting a baseball field remodel there is someone else wanting a skate park, a pet park, tennis courts, football fields, soccer fields, walking trails, spray water grounds, swimming pools, cleaner museums......I don't envy Eric Urfer and his crew at all. Do I want better baseball fields......definately!
I disagree with the stance of better baseball fields will keep a kid off the streets. Let's be realistic here. I played in QCAA in the 70's-early 80's. The fields were less attractive than what you see today. No outfield fences on field #3, poles inside fence on field #1, wooden bleachers that were falling apart, small concession stand with a one-hole restroom. Imagine watching your child run into one of those big light poles chasing fly balls. I did, many of my friends did. QCAA had 120 some teams from the ages of 9-14 then. Today, with the same park in a slightly improved condition we are around 70 teams from 4-14. That is 5 more years of children added and 50 some less teams. Kids have soccer all summer. Football all summer. Basketball all summer. You get the point. Kids have more choices today than I did. Ultimately it is the parents responsibility to keep their kid off the street and being a problem. If we must debate this topic I would argue that parents are less involved in their kids lives. It is much easier to rent a video game than to find an activity for them to be involved with. For most parents having a kid in ANY activity takes time away from their ability to watch Grey's Anatomy on TV. Blaming the fact that kids are causing problems on the street has little to do with the beauty of a baseball field. I played on fields that had no backstops. I still played without backstops because my parents took the time out of their lives to get me there. It wasn't about the beautiful park I played in. I played because I loved the game. What we have at Mill Creek is not the nicest park in all of Western Missouri. It is nice enough for any child to play a game of baseball on. Kids don't notice the imperfections of the park. Parents do. Kids are there to hang out with their friends and play ball. Nicer ball fields won't keep a kid off the street. What the majority of people want is to have the baseball season done on time so they can go on a vacation before school starts. I totally get it. So will everyone else. Reduce the rainouts and the baseball season can end on time and people can go on vacation. That is a much more realistic stance. That would be an argument that someone could win.
I would be more than happy to email you the end of season report if you would like to see it. I have the 2007 and 2008 report. Working on the 2009 right now. Email me at queencitybball@aol.com. It is all public information about QCAA that is on that report.
IIBillymartin can you put the end of the season report on the blogs? I would sure Love to let all the Bloggers see it but most of all the readers. I asked about you being banned from the park. Eric said no one has ever been banned from the park. Do you have proof of that or was it that someone told you that? These blogs look like a "As The World Turns." Please know that I am not making fun of you. All the kids that play in that mud need your help to put light on the truth. Thanks for all of your blogs!!! xox
End of season report from 2007. I have 2008 on a different computer.
Queen City End of Season Report
Queen City Athletic Association (QCAA) is a not for profit organization that provides an opportunity for all children, ages four through fourteen, to participate in the sport of baseball. Residents of Independence are given priority in QCAA. An Executive Board consisting of sixteen (16) members operated QCAA during the 2007 season. These volunteers donated 7,511 hours to make sure that the program was operating at a high level. Duties included:
For the 2007 season, QCAA offered a spring and fall baseball season.
In the spring season QCAA accommodated (65) teams. These teams consisted of (222) coaches and (744) children from the ages of four through fourteen. Games were played at Mill Creek Park and Sante Fe Park. Games could have been scheduled any day of the week. All coaches in QCAA are volunteers. During the 2007 spring season 23,142 hours were put forth by these coaches for the youth in this league.
Their duties included:
In the fall season QCAA accommodated (29) teams. These teams consisted of (98) coaches and (320) children from the ages of six through fourteen. Games were played at Mill Creek Park only. Games were scheduled Friday, Saturday and Sunday only. Again, all coaches in QCAA for the fall season were volunteers. During the 2007 fall season there were 4,206 hours put forth by these coaches for the youth in this league.
The total hours volunteered by ALL of QCAA for the 2007 season: 34,811 hours.
The total number of practice fields used: 24
The total number of games played in Independence (Spring): 405 over 12 weeks
The total number of games played in Independence (Fall): 140 over 8 weekends
The total number of tournaments scheduled was (5). (3) were totally rained out (1) was partially rained out and (1) was completed.
Finances: $258.39 loss for the season (this is explained by a bad rainy season and inability to start/finish tournaments). See page below for breakdown.
2007 QUEEN CITY ATHLETIC ASSOC. FINANCIAL REPORT
YEAR
2007
REVENUES
Prev. Year Carryover
$16,359.69
Candy/Raffle
$75,279.65
Donations
$0.00
Fall Baseball
$10,575.00
Registration
$7,040.00
Royals Tickets
$0.00
Sponsorship
$0.00
Tax Refund
$0.00
Telephone Refund
$155.86
Tournaments
$14,232.00
Towles Fund
$1,350.00
TOTAL REVENUES
$124,992.20
EXPENDITURES
Accounting
$325.00
Attorney Fees
$260.49
Bad Check Correction
$315.00
Benevolence/Donations
$1,500.00
Candy
$22,400.00
Candy Prizes
$0.00
Equipment (Spring)
$8,331.24
Equipment (Fall)
$0.00
Fall Refund
$50.00
Insurance
$6,392.50
Mailing
$0.00
Misc. Expenses
$710.76
Office Expenses
$0.00
Park Fencing Upgrade
$0.00
Field Maintenance
$9,313.00
Park Maintenance
$0.00
Phone/E-Mail
$2,125.97
PO Box
$65.00
Printing
$2,928.90
Raffle Prizes
$850.00
Registration Refund
$320.00
Royals Tickets
$0.00
Treasurer Fee
$590.75
Sponsorship
$0.00
Taxes (Penalties)
$0.00
Tournament Refund
$1,214.00
Tournaments
$2,501.29
Trailer
$880.00
Trophies
$4,858.50
T-Shirts
$4,968.00
Umpires (Spring)
$28,926.50
Umpires (Fall)
$9,044.00
USSSA Registration
$20.00
Yearbooks
$0.00
TOTAL EXPENDITURES
$108,890.90
TOTAL BALANCE
$16,101.30
QCAA was asked to submit a list of issues/items that need attention/repair. Below is a list of those items in no particular order.
Practice fields were not maintained on any regular schedule. Damages done by others outside of QCAA were not repaired and remained hazards for many weeks. Pre-season preparation included tilling of the baseball fields to remove weeds. This caused a soft playing surface that took many weeks to harden. This rendered the fields nearly useless for the beginning of the spring season. This was the only time practice fields were worked on unless there was damage and a lot of phone calls.
Lip on Mill Creek #4. The area where the dirt infield meets the grass outfield has continued to be a launching pad for ground balls. I am not sure of an easy solution, but what was done last spring has not remedied the problem. Many adults are concerned that this issue could harm a child. While we can’t stop baseballs from hitting children, we might want to eliminate a ramp that can be blamed on us.
Open drainage pipe near Mill Creek #2. There is a storm drain that goes under the sidewalk leading up to Mill Creek #2. This pipe goes under ground and drops off near where the playground begins. The opening to this pipe is wide enough for any child to crawl in. I have witnessed many kids being chased out of this pipe during games chasing after balls and toys. A simple bar screen attached to the opening would keep children from entering this pipe. It could still be open enough to allow water to pass.
Large depressions in ground around storm sewer. This same storm sewer has several holes that were washed out during rains. These holes or depressions have standing water for long periods of time. This is an area that could breed mosquitoes.
Dirt piles on side of trailer. There are several piles of rock and dirt near the storage trailer in front of Mill Creek #2. These could be used to fill the holes from above. Eliminating these piles would also free up more ground for team meetings away from the playing field as well as a usable surface for putting up tents for information and not blocking warm-up areas and walkways.
Restroom cleanliness. Not sure what to say about this one. Restrooms are pretty dirty most of the time. Not because of lack of effort. This is due for the most part because of a lack of respect for public property by our citizens. I would like to ask that a plunger and some emergency cleaning supplies (bleach, ammonia, etc) be kept at the park so they can be cleaned and back in use quickly. Current situation requires a phone call and then waiting for someone to show up and fix the problem.
Lights on playground. The playground area is very much appreciated by all that use it. They would like to see lights directed on it so that parents can see the kids and kids can see the obstacles they are about to trip over or run into.
Restroom solution for Mill Creek #4 and #5. QCAA understands that the new restroom near the shelter house opened up and the porta-potties were removed from the upper field. Parents are still telling QCAA that they do not want their children crossing the street or the parking lot. No solution from QCAA.
Calcined clay needed on all fields again. QCAA is willing to pursue this one if allowed. Mill Creek #1, #2, #3 and #5 all have spots where dirt has washed out (areas around grass), blown away with the wind or been dug out by players (batters boxes, pitching mounds and areas at each base). These lower areas cause water to build up on the fields and remain wet for longer periods. QCAA is proposing that more calcined clay be added after every fall season to keep the low spots from getting worse. This would also help with drainage over time.
Communication between Parks and QCAA. With the advent of QCAA taking care of field maintenance and the rain-out line, there were times when one or the other group had no idea what was going on. We need to have a set procedure so that all parties are notified. Several times concessions were not notified of games being played. Several times we had high school games rescheduled and the right people in QCAA did not know. There were also times that Parks did not get informed about reschedules and we had problems with lights. Either way, we need to establish points of contact so that EVERYONE who needs to know will get the information.
Grass mowing left LARGE piles in outfield. Some of this can be attributed to the large volume of rain we received this spring. I am sure it was difficult for them to keep up. That doesn’t stop coaches from complaining. There were a couple of instances where the clippings were so thick that balls would roll into them and not come out. If anything is done, we need to make sure that the outfields are not this way before tournaments. Tournaments are the time we get to show off the park. League play deserves the same effort, but lengthy rainy periods can be understood.
Trash pickup. QCAA will concede that coaches, parents and players need to pick up more often around the fields. QCAA will have meetings with all teams and address this in the future. We did have several occurrences though where trashcans had overflowed and trash was left to blow around. Weekends in general have more games and may need trash picked up before Monday to avoid this issue. Perhaps a bigger trash barrel for field supplies.
Regular inspection of field lights. A policy of how many lights are burnt out before it is feasible to replace them would be nice. At least we would have an answer for why 2 lights are out……4 lights are out……6 lights are out.
Damages at Sante Fe Park. There were several break-ins at Sante Fe Park. The concessions area was broken into and vandalized several times. This was an issue for the concessions people who were not comfortable with storing any food items there. This caused them to be limited for selection. The restrooms at this facility were vandalized on several occasions. The tack room was broken into this fall. Most trash barrels were set on fire and destroyed. Most of the lighting around the concessions was destroyed which made breaking into the park that much easier. All of these acts can be traced back to the inclusion of the skate park.
Scoreboards. An idea for discussion: What if we could get scoreboard funding and had an electrician group willing to install them? Wireless control boxes?
Backstops and dugouts. QCAA is aware of the history on this item (thus, it is last). We rebuilt dugouts and backstops 2 years ago as a stopgap measure. The intention was not to be permanent. Some repairs are already needed.
As you can see from the finances in this report, we had a loss of $200 for the season.
As for me being banned from the parks, Parks and Rec sent me a certified letter stating that I was not allowed on the Parks grounds and that they wanted someone else to act as the liason between the two groups. There were many things that started this ball rolling at that time but the biggest issue was that I went out and raked the fields trying to get them ready for play. In the end, their people refused to work on the fields as the Board of QCAA was viewed as a problem. The solution was allowing QCAA to have control of field maintenance. This obviously was a financial strain on the league and we had to work the budget to find the money. The final determination for the league to take this was that the Parks Department admitted that they did not have staffing budget for weekend help during the fall and that was why they stopped working on the fields during rain.
Trust me when I say that the Board of QCAA cared about what was going on. Many people donated countless hours of their time to get games in. Most of the time to the detriment of their own families.
llBillymartin Thank You for all of your hard work you have done at blogging all of us back. You have gone above and beyond what most bloggers would do. Thank You for all of your blogs!!! I sure hope and pray things get better for the kids and all the great people who donate countless hours for the kids in these parks. I feel the blogs are a very powerful source to turn to for help. The blogs put a light on things officials do not want the public to see. I wish you could post that certified letter that banned you from the park. Who signed that letter do you recall? XOX
I have a copy of it somewhere. Not sure where. If need be I could most likely find it. Not sure that it makes a difference at this point. The end result of that letter was that I was retained as the liason with Parks and Rec and we were given control of game day decisions on rainouts. Now with the new surface being put out, Parks and Rec has taken that control back. Time will tell. As I have told the Board Members at QCAA "be careful what you wish for".
Eric Urfer signed the letter. It was sent during the fall of 2006.
WOW Eric Urfer said that never happened. What do you think of that? I am just shaking my head. This is tooo much! Thanks for your blog! XOX
.......lol.........lots of times people say things "didn't happen"...........I think they call THAT selective memory...........
eldoggg
Eldoggg that is why I Love the blogs. That is why the printed word is so lasting and powerful. It can in fact prove what was said and I sooo LOVE The Truth!!! Selective memory............or lies??? Only the printed words can prove the truth. xox
I have a question for you. At the end of the QCAA seasons aren't the uniform shirts suppose to be returned or does that rule not apply now?
Uniforms are returned. Those that don't walk away get reissued until they can no longer be used. Every trip to Hi-Boy after games tends to do damage to jerseys after time. Each and every year we purchase new pants for ALL teams that use QCAA uniforms. Jerseys are purchased in lots every season with the oldest, least desirable being donated to other groups. For instance, if we have only 8 jerseys left of the Royals we will try to purchase like Jerseys. If we can't get them to match then we donate the old ones and buy brand new. The firestorm of handing out Jerseys that aren't exactly the same is far worse than the blog I am dealing with here. An average team has 2 players that do not return uniforms for many different reasons. As a league we make an attempt to do what a coach could not. Typically nothing gets returned in these cases.
T-ball gets to keep the t-shirt that we supply as a uniform.
Reason why I ask is when my daughter was playing T-Ball the coach wanted them returned and the hats, but when my son played the coach never asked for them. I was a little confused that was all! THANK YOU!
T-ball t-shirts and hats stay with the players. All other divisions use the fancier replica jerseys and baseball pants. We ask for the jerseys back. The pants tend to be torn or dirty beyond use.
I appreciate you answering my question for me!
All I was saying that a little help from some parents volunteering would almost improve the trouble makers running around tagging up Independence, I'm proud to say that we are on the right track as far as getting help from the parks deparment, things are diffrent than they were when you were going up even diffrent when I was, they were ready to listen to us at the meeting tonight and were first to say that QCBA had made most of he repairs to the park and, We never said we were a shamed of Mill Creek, we enjoy the park it's close to home and it's cheap entertainment for our family. All we wanted to see is the drinking fountains gone which were removed today on field #3 the fenceing behind field #3 will be fixed also and they are getting ready to redo the fields and drag them with some kind of mix to help drain them easier I guess, but something is being done none of ever asked for a total makeover just to make it safe for the boys to play. And as far as there not being very many teams shouldnt QCBA advertise like POP WARNER does, We rely on our kids (boys) to bring home the forms to sign up if we werent involved as coaches we would never know more and likely we've miss the deadlines for sign ups. We are talking about going and donating time at the new complex to earn money for new things for the park and so forth noone wants to leave QCBA we love the league and we love the players that we meet every year at the park. We just wanted them to be safe!!!!!
mushmouth12
The ag-lime that they are adding to the fields was all part of a big push by Derek Douglas from the Board of QCAA. The final result of this was that Parks and Rec took back control of the field maintenance. I have lived through this situation before. Time will tell if Parks and Rec has a good solution to this issue. The same people that take care of the fields do the mowing of Parks property. The grass has always taken priority in the past. This attempt of adding surface material may help some, but what they are doing is adding material to the top surface of the fields. If not crowned properly each year it will still puddle. The drainage underneath the fields has not been addressed. Lee's Summit built Legacy Park much the same way. Ag-lime on top of soil/clay. They have had rainout issues the past two seasons as well with this philosophy. Unfortunately, baseball fields are not one pass fixes. They must be maintiained over the long haul or there are issues. Adair Park in Independence is run by Jackson County Parks and Rec. They have a full time staff for maintaining the fields. Great idea, but ask the Girls Softball League about the cost of this process. They have moved most of their games to the new park on Salisbury to offset the costs that rise each year at Adair. There is a fine line between raising fees for the use of the park and what people are willing to pay.
In the end we all have to decide what we are willing to endure to play summer baseball. Fixing backstops and dugouts is a reasonable expectation. Reducing rainouts costs $$$$$$. That has to be absorbed somewhere.
Mushmouth12 it sounds like the community don't have to be in the dark on who to believe. We need copies of the end of the season reports. Also the very reason that I go before the City Council is to have evidence of the truth for our community to see and hear. This is also why I blog. The MUDDOG's are on a unfair playing field. The city officials know about it. Now because of The Examiner Blogs our community knows about it. This is why we need to not just talk about this problem but also write about it as you are. Our community needs it for evidence so they do know what to believe. The truth is sometimes stranger than fiction. Blog On!!! xox
I would like to add something to this thread that is missing. I have been on the board of QCAA for 10+ years and was president of the league for 5 years ending this last summer. Some of the comments in here are incorrect or misleading.
QCAA has a Users Agreement that they sign for Independence Parks and Rec every season. Part of this agreement is an explanation of what QCAA is responsible for and what the Parks and Rec is responsible for. Below is part of that agreement:
l. The QCAA may not make alterations and/or improvements to fields or facilities without first receiving the written approval of the City Parks and Recreation Department Director.
m. The QCAA is responsible for, and agrees to provide for, any nightly or post-game clean-up necessary to leave each facility dugout and playing area/field in the condition in which it was found prior to utilization by QCAA.
n. The QCAA recognizes that the City Parks and Recreation Department operates on an annual budget which may be reduced by the City. Funds available for improvements to City park facilities, the procurement of new park lands, and the expansion of departmental program opportunities are determined with annual budgetary limitations in consideration.
o. In an effort to facilitate communication between the City Parks and Recreation Department and the QCAA, QCAA will notify the department of league-related administrative and general membership meetings. A contact person from within the department will then be allowed the opportunity to attend these meetings.
p. The QCAA shall employ a contractor, approved in advance in writing by the City Parks and Recreation Department, to prepare and line the infields, and to use drying materials to cure minor puddling, for QCAA games. QCAA must submit a list of the type of materials and brand name that QCAA intends to use to line and dry fields. These materials must not be harmful to the turf or patrons and the list must be approved in writing by the City of Independence Parks and Recreation Department prior to the season.
The City has the following responsibilities:
h. Schedule and perform standard maintenance tasks at City-owned and operated facilities. This is to include:
1) Routine mowing of all ball fields,
2) Routine dragging of practice fields,
3) Routine park system trash removal (this does not exempt QCAA from post game clean-up responsibilities),
4) Provision for facility and field lighting,
5) Provision and maintenance of facility restrooms,
6) Provision for facility seating at game sites, and
7) General repair and/or replacement of broken facility lights, electrical components, fencing, etc.
8) Provide access to “tack” rooms.
i. Make improvements to existing park and ball field facilities within the City system, and procure and develop new facilities within the limits of the annual departmental budget.
As you can see, QCAA is not allowed to make any improvements without written permission. This includes cleanup days and so forth. When we have asked for permission in the past we have always been asked to use the Matching Grant fund with the Parks Commision and we did so 5 years ago when we refurbished the dugouts and replaced the backstops. This process requires approval of the project, cash up front and reimbursement upon completion and approval by the City. What QCAA is allowed to do is to hire someone to drag the game fields, put out bases and mounds and to line the fields.
In my time with being involved with this process, the Parks Department has been notified of many requests for improvements. These are done at the end of each year with a End of Season Report that is written by QCAA and handed to Eric Urfer (Head of Parks and Rec). In this report we have requested many improvements to the Parks (Mill Creek and Sante Fe). Eric and his staff have always listened to our requests but are not able to tackle the field drainage issues due to over-runs at the water parks, Adventure Oasis and the new facility on Salisbury. This is not as easy an issue as everyone would like to believe it is. To do things properly and modernize Mill Creek would cost at least 1 Million dollars. I am simply referring to new infields, drainage and backstops. While they are looking for the money in the budget (the Parks Sales Tax is not generating quite what they expected) QCAA is left to try to use what is available and make it work.
I have been fighting this battle for 10 years. It is something that I would like to see done as much as everyone on this thread. I do understand the lack of funds to get it done. As of today our Parks Dept is stretched too thin. I do like that people want to see changes. I think the baseball community would love to see a new and improved Mill Creek. I also understand the issues that the Parks Dept is facing. Seems to me that every time they do something at the Parks some of our citizens become determined to destroy it. All one needs to do is visit Sante Fe Park and look at the nice paintings on the NEW, expensive concession stand. This has occurred several times at Sante Fe Park, not to mention the amount of times that the trash cans have been burned. We can't move onto new projects when we are forced to keep replacing items every year.
Just wanted to pass along a little information and let everyone know that I appreciate the efforts.
Ok llbillymartin.........If QCBA is not allowed to these things that you say they are not and have listed for us, tell me why each player is required to sell $160 worth of candy bars to be allowed to play? The park is free for use by QC, the ligthing is free for use. Trash pickup is free by the Parks Dept. You can't make me believe that officials pay is that much that you require each player of each team to sell 160 candy bars. What are we as parents paying for? Someone to sit in front of a computer and make up schedules and rain date schedules? Somebody is making some money somewhere. If QC is not paying for field use or annemnities, it is all be footed by the city. If the city will not let QC do any repairs without prior permission and then reimburse QC for such repairs................where is the money?
See the earlier post as to what fees go to. The park is not totally free for use. We had to pay for setup of the fields for games. That amounted to $15,000 plus the cost of Turface which was $11,500. We also have to buy mounds/repair mounds every season, pitching machine repairs etc.. It is not as cheap as you think to run a league with 70+ teams playing.
Again, NOBODY on the Board of QCAA profits from their time they donate to the league. All finances are audited by an outside firm and can be proven. If we write a check it has to be listed in our financial report. All fees collected have to be reconciled against the number of kids playing. There are no easy ways for any Board Member to hide money or misappropriate funds. This comment irritates me to no end as I personally know what I have paid in both time and money so that 750+ kids can play baseball in Independence. Multiply this by the 15 other people that have done the same and you are making accusations that are misinformed and ignorant. Finances of this league are available at every meeting we have ever called. Not ONE person has ever asked to see them. 752 children participated in summer baseball this year. They raised $83,080 in fees and fundraisers. The total cost of running the league was $97,802. We were only able to offset this loss by running tournaments at the park. That was many weekends of time donated by the Board so that fees do not have to be raised.
Most every team in the league uses league equipment to play. Pants, jerseys, baseballs etc.....these things are not cheap and must be replenished every year. Some teams, like the muddogs, use their own uniforms. Not all teams do. That is a choice by each individual team.
Also, the reimbursement for projects that are approved is 50 cents on the dollar. You don't get it all back. Thus the name "matching grant fund".