Baseball Plan Needs Budget, Management

Heaven knows I hope the new baseball plan works out for the 2013 season, but the registration announcement does raise a few questions.

For those who haven't heard the story so far, an all-volunteer youth baseball league claimed in 2009 to be facing problems with the city Recreation Division regarding use of municipal fields and other arrangements. The controversy continued in 2010.

Although city administrative staff changed, the issues persisted into 2012. As the season approaches in 2013, the public has been assured that an answer has been found in a single league under the city's aegis.

The first and most obvious concern for 2013 is that there is no superintendent in charge of Recreation, as former Superintendent Dave Wynn left the post last year. The registration flyer notes a $25 fee that includes a uniform and use of equipment. Looking over past Plaintalker posts on the subject, one in April 2011 notes that $3,000 was spent on baseball uniforms for the city league without prior authorization and funds had to be found after the fact. If that's how things went with a superintendent in place, how will fiscal matters be handled without one? The purchasing agent at the time noted that such lapses occurred despite reminders of fiscal rules. There is a new purchasing agent as of this month, but still no full-time chief financial officer to guide the budget process for 2013.

In another post, the volunteer group, Queen City Baseball League, noted a large enrollment. How big can the merged league be? There are nine  14 city teams listed on the flyer. How many uniforms will be needed by April and how will they be procured?

It certainly was reassuring after all the fuss since 2009 to hear of the 2013 merger. Both Karen Glencamp-Daniel of the Queen City Baseball League and former city league organizer Roland Muhammad expressed somewhat guarded hope at the Jan. 22 meeting. Glencamp-Daniel said she hoped there would be "no power play" and Muhammad said he hoped "that can be true."

Plaintalker just hopes the new plan's fiscal and managerial aspects will be addressed properly, so the young players will not have to witness adult squabbles as in the past.

--Bernice