Field fight erupts over charges

"I'm re-thinking it," Zelnik said. "It shouldn't be tit for tat, but it's awfully odd for the city to complain they're doing something for nothing when we're doing the same for them."

Mayor Larry Franzella maintains the only issue between the two parties is the upkeep of the fields, however - a matter he expects will be solved at a meeting tonight. The relationship has until now been positive and benefits both parties, he said.

If the school district starts maintaining its own fields, Franzella pointed out it would have to buy and store a "whole different level of equipment."

"It's not rocket science," Franzella said. "It's no different than you or I hiring a gardener. If there have been overcharges it's their obligation to bring it to our attention and I applaud them for doing that. It's a tight economy where everybody's got to watch their dollars. I'm just unclear what the concern is."

Members of the school board and council formed a sub-committee several months ago to settle the dispute. Despite numerous reports from the sub-committee, Franzella said he still doesn't have a clear understanding of what exactly the school board's issue is.

The school district pays nearly $22,000 a year for maintenance of Belle Air school fields. The contract with the city signed in either 2001 or 2002 - the date is in question - requires the city to pay up to 50 percent of maintenance costs each year. The first two years, the school didn't have to pay anything, the third year it had to pay 20 percent, the fourth 40 percent and the fifth 50 percent.

"The problem is this is the first time they have to pay anything," said City Clerk Ed Simon. "The bottom line is they want to get out of the contract."

If the district doesn't want the city to maintain the fields, Simon said the city has expressed a willingness to negate the contract. However, Simon said the district wants the city to continue taking care of the fields at no charge.

The district contends the contract with the city never set parameters on what maintenance would be required. Two years into the contract, the district is being forced to pay additional money for ever-increasing maintenance for team sports.

Originally, the school district wanted bi-monthly mowing of the school parks. However, frequent use of the Belle Air baseball field requires weekly mowing. The city is also charging for treatment of a gopher problem and trash pickup.

The city loses money for the maintenance services, but Franzella said the tradeoff is the city gets to provide more field space for after school programs.

"It's a win-win situation for both parties," Franzella said.

Right now, Franzella said the city charges the district based on the time and materials it spends on the labor. That's where the confusion lies - Franzella said it would be easier to just charge a flat rate for a performed service.

"This way, the customer can't say you can't charge us for 45 minutes cause you were only here for 44 minutes," Franzella said.