Dear East Lake Resident, The East Lake sports fields – baseball, soccer, football, and cheerleading – are facing a crisis that the public needs to know about. And, we need your help in supporting this funding issue that will be voted on by the County Commissioners at their June 24 meeting. The East Lake Youth Sports Association (ELYSA) receives no public money to support operating costs for the athletic fields used by East Lake Little League Baseball, East Lake Youth Football and Cheerleading and the West Florida Flames Soccer Club. The annual cost of operating our facilities is approximately $300,000. There is also much needed maintenance and major repairs that also need to be done to the facility since it is over 30 years old, including repairing the lighting system that is estimated to cost over $250,000. All of the funding for the East Lake fields – including operating (mowing, fertilization, weed control, insurance, trash disposal and electric) and repairs & maintenance (lights, roofs, fencing, irrigation, lightning detection and parking lot) – comes from our registration fees. East Lake registration fees are more expensive than most in the area, which is causing some families to join other sports teams. With no public source of funding,the proper operation and the needed repairs cannot be accomplished. Furthermore, there is a need for expansion of the East Lake fields to accommodate the growing need for La Crosse fields. Without enough funds for operating and repairs, expansion is out of the question. All other fields in our area receive public funding for their operating and maintenance fees. East Lake fields are the only ones who do not receive this funding. Therefore, ELYSA has asked the Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) to consider levying an ad valorem tax of 0.25 mills on the homeowners in the East Lake area to fund the Youth Sports facilities currently operated by the ELYSA. While no one likes new taxes, this one would be minimal and provide an adequately funded and functioning youth sports complex with strong sports programs which is vital to our community (and resale value of our property). These programs are just another aspect of what makes East Lake a great place to live. We need your help. If you support the efforts to have county funding for the East Lake baseball, football, and soccer fields please: Sign our online petition at petitions.moveon.org/sign/funding-for-east-lake Send a personal email message to the County Commissioners expressing your support. This can be done easily via the County website pinellascounty.org/forms/comm_form.htm Talk to friends and neighbors and tell them that you are in support of this initiative. Forward this email to other East Lake residents and tell them that you are supporting this initiative. Join us on June 24th at the BOCC meeting in Clearwater. This is the public meeting where we expect the Commissioners to bring this to a final vote. The meeting will be held in the 5th Floor Assembly Room, Pinellas County Courthouse, 315 Court Street, Clearwater FL 33756 beginning at 6:00PM. Please direct any questions you may have to elysa@eastlakesoccer. Thanks for your consideration and your support.
Posted on: Thu, 29 May 2014 12:56:02 +0000
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