7.1 PRSR 06-10-2020
The Elk River Vision
A welcoming community with revolutionary and spirited resourcefulness, exceptional
service, and community engagement that encourages and inspires prosperity
Request for Action
To
Parks and Recreation Commission
Item Number
7.1
Agenda Section
Action Items
Meeting Date
June 10, 2020
Prepared by
Steve Benoit, Recreation Manager
Item Description
Elk River Youth Lacrosse Association Field
Lighting Payment Deferment Request
Reviewed by
Michael Hecker, Parks and Recreation Director
Reviewed by
Cal Portner, City Administrator
Action Requested
Recommend, by motion, the Elk River Youth Lacrosse’s 2020, 2021 and 2022 field lighting payments be
deferred for one year from the due dates indicated in the Agreement Between the City of Elk River, Elk River
Youth Football Association, and Elk River Youth Lacrosse Association Regarding Oak Knoll Athletic
Complex.
Background/Discussion
In March of 2018, Elk River Youth Lacrosse entered into an agreement with the city to fund the installation of
field lighting on field four at the Oak Knoll Athletic Complex. The agreement amounts to a total of $41,664
with a $12,000 initial payment followed by annual payments of $7,416 in 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022.
Due to the current pandemic, the seasons for youth sports associations are have been negatively impacted.
Due to the uncertainty of revenues, Elk River Youth Lacrosse has requested to defer their 2020 payment.
Financial Impact
No payment will be made in 2020. The 2020 payment will be due in 2021, the 2021 payment in 2022, and
the 2022 payment in 2023.
Attachments
Elk River Youth Lacrosse field lighting payment deferral request
Agreement Between the City of Elk River, Elk River Youth Football Association, and Elk River
Youth Lacrosse Association Regarding Oak Knoll Athletic Complex.
May 20th, 2020
Attention: City of Elk River Parks and Recreation Commission,
This year has proven to be a year for the history books, no event in recent history will compare to the
global pandemic that we have seen so far in 2020. The impact on the families of Elk River and
surrounding communities will be a lasting one, and we hope that all of you on the commission are
staying safe and healthy. As you can imagine the early results of this pandemic have created a tough
situation for Elk River Youth Lacrosse Association as well as many other youth sports associations.
There are several issues that have made a major impact on our association so far in 2020. These issues
are beginning to cause a hardship and a potential major budget shortfall for our association. To give you
some details behind our situation we will briefly describe these events.
• Homegrown Lacrosse League canceled the entire 2020 Spring indoor box lacrosse season. We
refunded approximately 40 player registrations in March for teams at the 10U, 12U and 14U
levels. Several pre-paid costs (indoor practice rental space, equipment, processing fees, etc.)
were unable to be reclaimed.
• We have been contacted by MSLax (Minnesota Schoolgirls Lacrosse Association) and the entire
girls Summer Lacrosse program has been cancelled. We have refunded all registrations for girls
on the 8U, 10U, 12U and 14U teams. Again, some pre-paid costs were unable to be recouped.
• Overall registrations have dropped significantly. Last year we had around 200 players between
boys and girls, this year we had a grand total of only 129 players. Some families have requested
to cancel their registrations, and we are refunding more players as time goes on.
• The boy’s season was supposed to begin in April with indoor practice times and try-outs, we
have not held a single team practice due to the Stay at Home order. YLM (Youth Lacrosse of
Minnesota) has pushed back the start of the season several times, we are hoping for a July
season start with a truncated season. Some are predicting the entire season will be canceled.
Due to these unprecedented conditions our association’s bank balance is dipping below our comfort
levels and we are humbly asking the Parks and Recreation Commission for a payment deferral in 2020.
The deferral we are requesting is for the Oak Knoll capital lighting improvement project. We are
committed to improving the city’s resources and want to pursue projects with the city for many years to
come. If possible, we would request to skip a payment in 2020 and add an additional year to the end of
the term.
Sincerely,
Brian M. Lambertz
President
Elk River Youth Lacrosse Association