Council, president need to meet on sports

Published 11:45 pm Tuesday, March 17, 2015

St. John the Baptist Parish Council members and parish employees agree the recreation department needs a boost in youth participation.

What’s the correct way to get there is up for debate.

In February, a request from Parish President Natalie Robottom to add a program coordinator to the recreation department at an annual salary of approximately $43,000 was denied.

New recreation director Kerry Watkins is on record saying the new hire would help solicit sponsorships and recruit young people.

Parish Council members maintain they don’t want to spend money on someone else’s salary and benefits while the fee to participating families is $45 for each sport.

Councilman Larry Snyder, who represents District 6, said most parents from poor neighborhoods don’t have the money to put two or three children in baseball and are more concerned with simply putting food on the table.

“We don’t pay the coaches; why do we have to make the kids pay?” Snyder asked this week.

“We have a $1.2 million budget, but this is only like $5,000 (total for the registration fees). Why can’t we pay for that? You know why? We use our money for everything else.”

Snyder said he is tired of the parish investing money in sports fields and not seeing any youth teams actually utilize them, especially when the benefits are so obvious.

“When I had my kids that I coached, it kept them from doing things that would be detrimental to their future,” he said. “They learned skills, how to deal with other people and teamwork. Recreation sports do all of that for children.”

It’s certainly a philosophy everyone can agree on, but until our leadership can come together on the same path, the inaction will continue to doom everyone’s efforts.

Watkins said he has partnered with the New Orleans Saints, Pelicans and Coca-Cola regarding sponsorships, and plans are in place to lower the fees, perhaps as low as $20 per sport.

Watkins told the Council in February his staff consists of five employees and he “can’t be in all places at one time. I need someone to help me run some of these programs.”

Just last week, Robottom said she is agreeable to meeting with Council members in a public setting to explore ways to reduce some of the fees.

It’s a meeting that should happen. It’s also one that all who attend should do so without political agendas in hand.

There is no reason why Parish Council members and government staff can’t reach a consensus on this issue if each is willing to give a little and focus on providing our children every opportunity possible.