This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Politics & Government

5 Things Town Council: Teams to Pay to Play on Fields

Highlights from Monday night's township council conference meeting.

The town council held a conference meeting Monday night to discuss a variety of issues ranging from new fees for leagues to use the township fields, as well as the state's anti-idling law.

Here's what you need to know:

1.   After a number of discussions with the Sports Council, the township plans to implement field usage fees for independent sports groups that use the fields, according to Town Manager Michele Meade.

Find out what's happening in Livingstonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The fee varies based on sport and how long the season.

"We think it's a fair proposal. Fair, in light of the difference of intensity of use that each of the groups provides and the amount of maintenance that we have to provide as a result," Meade said.

Find out what's happening in Livingstonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

In the past, the township never charged a fee for sports groups using the field. All other towns in the area charge, Deputy Mayor Steve Santola said. The new fees are in line with fees in the other municipalities.

Councilman Michael Rieber asked if adding costs would discourage residents from playing sports. Santola pointed out that the new costs would not prohibit anyone from using a township field, but instead affected those who wanted guaranteed field usage.

Santola did however raise a new concern. "The issue is going to be we really have to deliver a good service," said Santola. "Once somebody is paying they're going to expect that the lines are going to be straight." Santola indicated that provided the service meet expectations, the fees were a good idea to help the township offset costs.

Councilman Gary Schneiderman described the fields as "acceptable," not great, especially compared to what they used to be years ago. "There are very few municipalities on that list that are worse than ours," he said. He also noted that while his time on the council is running up, he intends to make a push to have turf installed on the fields at Heritage Middle School when the council has the next 5-on-5 meeting with the Board of Education.

The new field usage fees will be formally introduced at the council's next meeting on Sept. 26.

2.   The council discussed creating a resolution to support the Green Team's efforts in raising awareness about the harmful impact that motor vehicle idling has on the environment.

The state of New Jersey has an anti-idling law in place, which states that vehicles, including cars, trucks and buses, may not idle for more than three minutes.

3.   The township manager informed the council of a change order totaling $14,758.12 in additional costs for the reconstruction of Wynnewood Road, a project that was completed earlier this spring. One of the driving factors behind the added cost, Meade noted, is a new requirement from the state that requires an asphalt price adjustment due to the cost of oil.

4.   Livingston will look to renew its membership with the Morris County Cooperative Pricing Council, which it has been a part of for quite some time, for the next five years. "We take advantage of a lot of their contracts so it saves us from bidding on our own," said Meade. The cost of membership is $1,100.

5. Earlier in the evening, council members joined township employees and organizations in greeting newcomers to Livingston.

The council meets next on Monday, Sept. 26 for a conference meeting at 7:30 p.m. followed by a regular meeting at 8 p.m.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?