12.1 PRSR 07-14-2021
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
12.1
Agenda Section
Work Session
Meeting Date
July 14, 2021
Prepared by
Michael Hecker, Parks and Recreation Director
Item Description
Elk River Youth Lacrosse Association Field
Lighting Payment Deferment Request
Reviewed by
Cal Portner, City Administrator
Reviewed by
Action Requested
Discuss the Elk River Youth Lacrosse 2020 and 2021 field lighting payments be deferred.
Background/Discussion
In March of 2018, Elk River Youth Football 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 have been negatively impacted.
According to the attached letter, Elk River Youth Lacrosse is in a budget crisis and will have difficulty making
their payments for field lighting.
Elk River Youth Football decided to drop their request for a deferment because registrations have increased.
Financial Impact
No payments were made in 2020 and 2021 by both ER Youth Football and ER Youth Lacrosse.
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 13, 2020, Parks & Recreation Commission Minutes
June 10, 2020, Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes
2020 Elk River Youth Baseball field lighting payment deferral request
2020 Elk River Youth Lacrosse field lighting payment deferral request
2020 Elk River Youth Football field lighting payment deferral request
From:Hecker, Michael
To:Love, Tonya
Subject:FW: Elk River Parks and Recreation Commission Request Letter - Elk River Youth Lacrosse
Date:Tuesday, June 29, 2021 7:37:40 PM
Attachments:2021 ERYLAX Budget (version 1).xlsx
2021 ERYLAX Budget (version 2 revised).xlsx
Importance:High
Can you add this message and all the attachment spreadsheets to the July 14 Commission agenda.
Michael
From: Brian Lambertz <bml6182@msn.com>
Sent: Tuesday, June 22, 2021 2:14 PM
To: Hecker, Michael <MHecker@ElkRiverMN.gov>
Cc: Wingard, Karen <KWingard@ElkRiverMN.gov>; David Williams (djw62563@hotmail.com)
<djw62563@hotmail.com>
Subject: Re: Elk River Parks and Recreation Commission Request Letter - Elk River Youth Lacrosse
Hello Michael,
Thank you for responding to our request, we had hoped things would have gone back to
normal more quickly, maybe we are dealing with a "new normal". When registration closed at
the end of March, we were still under a full mask mandate with masks even being required for
outdoor practices. Our first several weeks of outdoor practice, we required the players and
coaches to wear masks inside their helmets due to the Governer's order. I believe many
parents had issues with this and we did hear from several families that it was the reason they
decided not to play this year.
To provide financial information:
I have two budgets for this year. The "planned" budget version 1 which includes our normal
season with 12 teams and 200 players. I have our revised budget version 2, that shows what
is looks like when we dropped to 6 teams and 100 players. We adjusted down costs that are
not going to be incurred due to having less players/teams this year. You will note that the
original budget shows approximately $0 profit/loss on the season, we are always attempting
to break even as we are a non-profit. Next you will see our revised budget based on only 6
teams and we are projecting a -$11,600 shortfall. In reality we have a cushion in our bank
account that includes the initial $10,000 seed money that the high school lacrosse program
donated several years ago to help start our program, we try to keep that as a reserve.
When we entered into the lighting agreement several years ago, lacrosse registration had
been rising at a substantial rate, we were experiencing growth at +10-15% each year. With no
season last year and -100% decline in registration it has impacted our program's budget more
than we could have projected. I am still trying to figure how to budget for next season - Do we
project an increase or decrease? - it's a tough guessing game.
Here is the math that is most concerning:
Oak Knoll field usage:
100 players * $5 Usage fee = $500
Annual lighting payment = $7416
---------------------------------------------
$7916 / 100 players = $79.16 of each player's registration goes towards Oak Knoll
In contrast for us to use 6 fields for practices at Salk and Vandenberge fields, we pay
$10/player for practices.
When you have 200 players, it is much easier for us to absorb the Oak Knoll field usage costs,
but with only 100 players, it gets very expensive and we will have to raise our registration
costs or ask for the city to spread our terms over a longer period of time. I am nervous to
raise costs as we already face issue with families claiming we are too expensive. With recent
declines in registrations, I am worried that raising prices will lead to yet another decline in
registration. We are trying our best to reduce costs and the barrier to entry.
Thanks again for listening to our request!
Sincerely,
Brian M. Lambertz
President
Elk River Youth Lacrosse Association
763-458-5576
From: Hecker, Michael <MHecker@ElkRiverMN.gov>
Sent: Saturday, June 19, 2021 12:25 PM
To: 'Brian Lambertz' <bml6182@msn.com>
Cc: Wingard, Karen <KWingard@ElkRiverMN.gov>; David Williams (djw62563@hotmail.com)
<djw62563@hotmail.com>
Subject: FW: Elk River Parks and Recreation Commission Request Letter - Elk River Youth Lacrosse
Hi Brian-
Karen brought your request to my attention. Would you like me to bring your letter to the
attention of the Parks and Recreation Commission at their next meeting Wednesday, July 14. It
will probably be a work session.
Can you and/or someone from your board be able to attend the Commission meeting to answer any
questions?
Can you also provide financial information to show how your request is based on a financial
hardship? This would become public information.
I will review this with our Commission Chair Dave Williams and will be back to you in the coming
week for any additional information needed.
Thank you-
Michael Hecker, CPRP
City of Elk River - Parks and Recreation Director
13065 Orono Parkway, Elk River, MN 55330
763.635.1150 ElkRiverMN.gov
From: Brian Lambertz <bml6182@msn.com>
Sent: Wednesday, June 16, 2021 12:17 PM
To: Wingard, Karen <KWingard@ElkRiverMN.gov>
Subject: Elk River Parks and Recreation Commission Request Letter - Elk River Youth Lacrosse
Hello Karen,
After reviewing our budget, we are still in a bit of a budget crisis with our registration being
cut in half this year. I have written a letter to the Parks and Recreation Commision in hopes
that you could read it and provide any feedback. If you think this letter makes sense, I would
ask you to pass it along to the commission for them to review and bring it up for a topic of
discission at an upcoming meeting. In the past I have attended some of the park board
meetings, when youth sports were on the agenda. Since the pandemic, I have lost track of the
meetings. I would be happy to speak on behalf of our association at an upcoming meeting on
this topic.
Sincerely,
Brian M. Lambertz
President
Elk River Youth Lacrosse Association
2019 Lacrosse Registration Fees
2021 Budget - As Planned 2/4/21
Cost Allocations
Registration Fees # of # Players Total General Boys BU14 BU12 BU10 BU8 Total Reg Team Total Player
Teams per Team Players 17,016$ 13,763$ 5,487$ 4,587$ 3,394$ 1,272$ 39,513.00$ Fees Fees 2020 2019 2018 2017 Cost
Lacrosse Boys U14 2 19 38 90.99$ 129.84$ 144.39$ 365.23$ 375.00$ 14,250$ 375$ 350.00$ 405.00$ 375.00$ 375.00$
Lacrosse Boys U12 2 19 38 90.99$ 129.84$ 120.71$ 341.54$ 375.00$ 14,250$ 375$ 350.00$ 405.00$ 375.00$ 375.00$
Lacrosse Boys U10 2 15 30 90.99$ 129.84$ 113.13$ 333.96$ 325.00$ 9,750$ 325$ 300.00$ 355.00$ 325.00$ 325.00$
Lacrosse Boys U8 1 15 15 90.99$ 129.84$ 84.80$ 305.63$ 225.00$ 3,375$ 225$ 200.00$ 150.00$ 275.00$ 225.00$
7 106 41,625$
Actual Number Including 8U -->121 boys (short)/over 2,112.00$
Cost Allocations
General Girls GU19 GU14 GU12 GU10 Total Reg Team Total Player
17,016$ 5,062$ 950$ 2,050$ 1,649$ 1,150$ 16,867.00$ Fees Fees 2020 2019 2018 2017 Cost
Lacrosse Girls U8 1 10 10 90.99$ 76.70$ 95.00$ 262.70$ 125.00$ 1,250$ 125$ 100.00$ 100.00$ 125.00$
Lacrosse Girls U14 1 23 23 90.99$ 76.70$ 89.13$ 256.83$ 275.00$ 6,325$ 275$ 250.00$ 300.00$ 210.00$ 275.00$
Lacrosse Girls U12 1 18 18 90.99$ 76.70$ 91.61$ 259.31$ 250.00$ 4,500$ 250$ 225.00$ 275.00$ 200.00$ 250.00$
Lacrosse Girls U10 1 15 15 90.99$ 76.70$ 76.67$ 244.36$ 200.00$ 3,000$ 200$ 175.00$ 225.00$ 200.00$ 200.00$
66 15,075$
girls (short)/over (1,792.00)$
total (short)/over 320.00$
TOTAL 187 56,700.00$
2019 185
Increase/Decrease 1%56,380.00$
-$ (should be zero)check to budget
2019 Lacrosse Registration Fees
2021 Budget - Upadted after teams cut to 6 - 6/14/21
Cost Allocations
Registration Fees # of # Players Total General Boys BU14 BU12 BU10 BU8 Total Reg Team Total Player
Teams per Team Players 15,066$ 12,025$ 3,869$ 2,919$ 2,819$ -$ 32,178.20$ Fees Fees 2020 2019 2018 2017 Cost
Lacrosse Boys U14 1 22 22 150.66$ 171.79$ 175.86$ 498.31$ 375.00$ 8,250$ 375$ 350.00$ 405.00$ 375.00$ 375.00$
Lacrosse Boys U12 1 22 22 150.66$ 171.79$ 132.68$ 455.13$ 375.00$ 8,250$ 375$ 350.00$ 405.00$ 375.00$ 375.00$
Lacrosse Boys U10 2 13 26 150.66$ 171.79$ 108.42$ 430.87$ 325.00$ 8,450$ 325$ 300.00$ 355.00$ 325.00$ 325.00$
Lacrosse Boys U8 0 15 0 150.66$ 171.79$ #DIV/0!#DIV/0!225.00$ -$ 225$ 200.00$ 150.00$ 275.00$ 225.00$
4 70 24,950$
Actual Number Including 8U -->70 boys (short)/over (7,228.20)$
Cost Allocations
General Girls GU19 GU14 GU12 GU10 Total Reg Team Total Player
15,066$ 4,110$ -$ 2,050$ 1,649$ -$ 12,328.80$ Fees Fees 2020 2019 2018 2017 Cost
Lacrosse Girls U8 0 10 0 150.66$ 137.00$ #DIV/0!#DIV/0!125.00$ -$ 125$ 100.00$ 100.00$ 125.00$
Lacrosse Girls U14 1 15 15 150.66$ 137.00$ 136.67$ 424.33$ 275.00$ 4,125$ 275$ 250.00$ 300.00$ 210.00$ 275.00$
Lacrosse Girls U12 1 15 15 150.66$ 137.00$ 109.93$ 397.59$ 250.00$ 3,750$ 250$ 225.00$ 275.00$ 200.00$ 250.00$
Lacrosse Girls U10 0 15 0 150.66$ 137.00$ #DIV/0!#DIV/0!200.00$ -$ 200$ 175.00$ 225.00$ 200.00$ 200.00$
30 7,875$
girls (short)/over (4,453.80)$
total (short)/over (11,682.00)$
TOTAL 100 32,825.00$
2019 185
Increase/Decrease -85%44,507.00$
-$ (should be zero)check to budget
City of Elk River Parks Department,
Due to the financial hardships brought on by the pandemic, a drop in participation, and not having an
actual football season our association is requesting a deferment of the 2020 Field Lighting Payment.
Elk River Youth Football appreciates our partnership with the Elk River City Parks Department regarding
field usage, and the start to an exciting 2021 youth football season.
If you have any questions regarding this matter, please do not hesitate to reach out.
Sincerely,
Darren Pierson
President, Elk River Youth Football
Brian Cufaude
Vice President, Elk River Youth Football
Kelly Pierson
Treasurer, Elk River Youth Football