The Cheektowaga Town Board has decided to waive field fees for youth sports teams this year after Cheektowaga Youth Baseball raised concerns about how the town handled changing its method of determining residency eligibility.
But next year will likely be a different matter.
The town’s Aid to Youth program gives Cheektowaga-based nonprofit organizations $1,500 of annual funding and free use of town-owned fields and facilities as long as the organization’s membership is made up of at least 70% town residents. Groups that do not meet the 70% threshold are not eligible for funding and must pay to rent town facilities.
Cheektowaga Youth Baseball previously met the residency requirement until this year, when the town started using a new software program that more accurately determines where children signed up for the league live. The software was able to eliminate players who do not live in Cheektowaga, but live in areas that share a ZIP code with the town, such as the City of Buffalo (14206 and 14211) and West Seneca (14224).
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“You shouldn’t have Cheektowaga taxpayers paying for children that don’t live in the town,” Town Board Member Vernon Thompson said.
The rising expense of sports equipment has become a significant barrier to some children getting an opportunity to hit the playing fields and surfaces of Western New York, especially in inner cities and rural areas. That’s where organizations like the Ralph Wilson Jr. Foundation, which funds Project Play, and some of their nonprofit partners have stepped up to help children in all communities stay active through play.
Before the town started using the software, all players who lived in those ZIP codes were counted as Cheektowaga residents because it was too time-consuming for the town to see if a residence was in Cheektowaga, Town Board Member Brian Pilarski explained in a Facebook post.
“It’s not that anything changed,” Pilarski said. “We have better tools now to say, ‘This is or isn’t a Cheektowaga resident, this qualifies or doesn’t qualify.’”
Cheektowaga Youth Baseball President Dave Camp said the league was not given any prior notice before the town changed its method to check residency. The league submitted its paperwork and requested to use town fields in the fall, Camp said. That was approved, but then in March, the town asked the league to resubmit its paperwork. About a month later, Camp was told the league did not meet the eligibility requirements and would have to pay to use the Losson Park fields they requested for a travel baseball tournament, he said.
“What do you mean we’re not eligible?” Camp said, addressing the Town Board on June 11. “How could that possibly be? How did you change the program without telling anybody?”
Had the league been notified of this change, leaders would have worked to meet the eligibility requirement, Camp said. But it was not given the opportunity. He asked that in the future, the town communicates any changes that would impact the league.
“It’s not fair to the kids,” Camp said. “It’s not fair to us as an organization.”
As a result, the board voted to waive field fees for this year for not only Cheektowaga Youth Baseball, but also Cheektowaga Soccer Club, Airlanes Jr. Football and Cheerleading and Cheektowaga Little Loop Football.
“You’re right,” Pilarski said. “We need to do better.”
Next year, the leagues will likely have to pay the field fees, unless the town comes up with a new arrangement.
Pilarski said he wants to start a youth sports committee to make recommendations to the Town Board on how to better support the leagues. Over the years, the town has decreased funding for youth programs dramatically, from $33,377 in 2010 to $4,500 this year. The town allocated $15,000 to the Aid to Youth program last year.
“What we’re doing for these kids does not come anywhere near close to what our peer towns and cities are,” Camp said.
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