Do you ever cause waves in your community?

[AmyinPA]

Let me explain. Five years ago our community built a gorgeous rec center with a huge basketball gymnasium. Although dh and I voted against its being built, because we didn't want to pay higher taxes, we have used it from time to time and have come to really appreciate it in the winter when it's too cold to be outside playing.

However a few things have changed over the past three years. The gymnasium is no longer open to the public on weekends between the months of Oct thru March due to basketball leagues that play all weekend long. Furthermore, due to the number of non-residents that were using the rec center, they now are asking residents to pay a $20 annual fee to join. All this to say, that we can no longer use the gym half of the year but are paying even more to join.

I have phoned the Parks and Rec. Director twice this week to discuss this, though she has yet to call me back. Still, I'm not even sure what to say. I think it's terribly unfair that residents have spent tax money to build this beautiful facility and yet we can't even use it half the year because a basketball league is using it. But I'm sure the rec. center is being well compensated by the league and so what leverage do I have? I could ask for my $20 back, but really that's no big deal either.

I guess it's just the principle of the matter. I paying both directly and indirectly for a facility that I am unable to use.

Once again our government at work...this would never happen in the private sector. And yet, I'm not sure what there is that the average citizen can do. Any thoughts?

[NicksMama-Zack's Mama Too]

I have a family membership at our local Parks & Recs pool ($275/yr). 2 swim teams train there in the late afternoons. In the summer the pool is used for teams and lessons. We are blocked out more and more every year. Luckily, we can have some flexibility. I'd hate this if we ps'd.

Same goes for our local parks. You can't play on the soccer fields or baseball fields during the week. They are for team use only on the weekends or practice.

It's like you have to belong to an ORGANIZED sport to use the facilities or you just don't count.

:mad:

[Kris]

We have a similar situation with our local community center. Unfortunately, the lady that runs it considers it to be her private enterprise, completely with all the small-town nastiness and clique membership that goes with it. I told her to have fun in her personal tree house and took my "business" elsewhere -- as did many of the other locals.

It's now the equivalent of an after school day care where parents have their kids go for a couple of hours until they get off work and go pick them up.

Nothing on the scale you're dealing with, but I think you're right. I'm sure they're thinking they need the league fees to pay operation costs, but was that considered when the issue came up in the first place? Taxpayer funded facilities should be available to the people who paid for them!

[Lorna]

You know, it is amazing what you can do if you try.
When my children were little we had a terrible play park with a concrete surface and some sorry-looking 'belt' swings. I went to the local Friends of the Park organisation but it was run by a few older people with no children who had no interest in the children's part of the park. I went to the local authority and they lectured me on how wonderful the park was.
I decided to push anyway for a new park because everyone I met with any authority was clearly talking nonsense. I wrote a questionnaire and put it in the local library. The librarians were very supportive. One of them had fallen from the climbing frame ten years before, as a child, and broken her arm. The week before apparently the same thing had happened again. It was always happening.
I got together letters from friends who had children who were doctors, saying now unsafe the park was. My lawyer friend said that would put them in a difficult position because now if something happened we had warned them already.
I was only in my early twenties and it was very scary to go along to a meeting with all the 'big wigs' there. I went and they hardly acknowledged my presence. At the end of the meeting I was 'Any other Business?'. I shyly handed over my filled in questionnaires and letters from doctors and lawyers. Boy did they change their tune!
A week later we found out that we had the go ahead for an amazing new playground. I was allowed to get together all the people who had helped with the 'report' and we got to design the playground. The playground designer we met told us what we knew already - the playground was actually illegal because it didn't meet any required standards.
Generally, it is really worth having a go. Very, very few people do anything about injustices in their local area. Push your point and back it up with facts. Get some people with influence and who have a stake in the local area to back you up.

[Peek a Boo]

boy howdy do I!!

I just switched from the P&R board to the library board.


There are a few things you need to do:

1. contact each of your city councilmen. email them AND call them.

2. do that w/ the mayor as well.

3. any other elected positions? contact them. Find out the dates of the next election, and let officials know that you will be supporting or campaigning against those who don't want to support the citizens. Add those dates to the flyers. Include city official contact info on letters and flyers and correspondence.

4. Write up a letter to the editor. include NAMES, DATES, and Dollars. reference where to read the original agreed-upon contract that the community agreed to finance. and see #9.

5. can you join a board? ANY board? getting involved in any capacity will give you leverage w/ the city staff and officials.

6. Print up flyers. half page if $$ is an issue. Post them in the library and any other community bulletin boards. and see #9.

7. make a poster w/ figures and ask a local grocer/store if you can stand outside and *just stand there* promising not to harass customers. see #9.
Don't forget standing on the corners holding up signs too. That gets quite a bit of attention.

8. do you have an iron-on T-shirt program? make a T-shirt w/ names, dates, and dollars on it too. For each member of the family. See if you can get friends to wear one too.

9. Does your community have any local blogs? email them. If they don't, Start One. Include the link in your Letter to the editor.

10. If you have the funds, take out an *ad* in the paper about this.

11. Write up a petition and establish a yahoo group to organize grassroots.

12. Go door to door w/ petition, flyer, or anything else. Even quarter page flyers are good for handing out.

13. Find out the next P&R board & city council meeting and FLOOD them w/ people that will SPEAK against this practice. It takes warm bodies showing up --even if not everyone speaks, a packed room will draw press [notify the press once you know people have committed to go so they can cover it]. Note that the board/council can take no action at the time the citizens speak, but it can draw a lot of flack. You'll need to have people showing up for several meetings in a row --TAKE THEIR TIME! That time belongs to The Citizens, not the council men or board members. And don't worry --these big wigs aren't always as big as they appear. They are Just People. And sometimes you'll find one that is absolutely supportive of your cause. Do NOT let them sway you into "just wait till next year" --insist that this is an issue that you are pursuing *now*. They can get on board or they can abstain. If you let them push it off, it will continue to BE pushed off. Don't buy any excuses they throw at you.

14. Don't forget your vehicle!! Get some shoe polish and advertise the cause. tape flyers inside the windows. Use shoe polish to advertise the website or yahoogroup.

The ONLY way to get change is to seriously make a HUGE *concerted* stink about it.
Research what other communities [about your size] do to keep their facilities cost effective for residents. Unfortunately, a LOT of communities pull the same crap - residents pay thru taxes AND fees. basketball leagues and non-residents should have to pay a LOT to use the facility, and residents should have AT LEAST a window of time on the weekends to use it. Leagues should not get prime resident time. research! be ready to say "These three cities do this, and we like that set up." You can even contact those communities and get more info. The $20 a year isn't too bad from what I've seen, but the weekend thing would bug the crap outta me --weekends are usually the only time that hard-working residents have to enjoy that which they are subsidizing.

Good luck!

[Diana in OR]

Oh, man. This is my story. Now I'm running for City Council.;) In my case, it was about an undeveloped park at the end of my street in an area of town that there are no parks. I got my neighbors to sign a petition, and took our plea to the Parks and Rec. Board and then to City Council. It is now in the design stages.:)

A couple things stand out to me in your situation. In my city, it would be unlikely that they would ask the leagues to stop using the facility, especially if they were paying for the use.

One thing, though, you might think about is how about your city charging non-residents rather than the other way around? In my city, residents use the library for free, but non-residents are charged $60/year.

And definitely, as Peek said, contact all the city councilors and the mayor. If you can get this to be discussed at a city council meeting, that would be great. (I think most City Council meetings include time for people to talk about issues that are not on the agenda.) FLOOD that meeting with others who agree with you. That speaks volumes to those who can do something about it.

Good Luck! Let us know how it goes.

[Laura Corin]

You know, it is amazing what you can do if you try.


Laura

[AmyinPA]

I discussed the ideas with my dh and he and I agreed that we're just not in a position to pursue this right now...well, with 6 kids including a newborn plus his working all the time.

It's toward the end of the basketball season. I may continue to talk to friends and others about the situation to see if others are bothered by the policy. I really don't know. We live in a very "sports oriented" community and it may very well be that the majority supports the basketball league.

In any case I have six months to dig a little deeper. If I find there to be a lot of discontent with the rec. center, I may bring it up in late summer.

In the meantime, I'm impressed by your ladies' gumption to create change around you. It's really inspiring. Most days I just sit in my bubble and let the world and all it's injustices pass me by. :blush:

[Peek a Boo]

You do NOT need to do the Big Pursue right now --I have 5 kiddos too [13, 10, 6, 4, and 2yo], and I know that it is downright TOUGH to do.

One more thing i forgot:
whenever you DO ramp up efforts, make sure you get names AND phone numbers of people willing to help or sign petitions. This is where the yahoogroup database will come in very handy.
You can slowly start your research, building a case, developing flyers on the computer, set up a yahoogroup, start learning about City Govmt [who they are, when and where they meet, dates of upcoming elections], feeling out friends and residents who might be interested in helping you build a case, and anything else *at home* that doesn't need to be *implemented* yet. As you find communities that cater well to the residents, start dropping big ol' hints and feelers. You might find it doesn't take too much to get a change if the right person grabs the hint and does the running for you :D Some of us that have the time, motivation, and energy just need a good secretary to collect info for us, lol.

Good luck