Multi-Purpose Sports Complex Now Open

The Multi-Purpose Sports Complex on Hunt Brothers Road is now open for league play. If someone familiar with municipal budgets were to take a close look at our City budget, and then drive out to see the new Complex, I would expect this question:
So just how does a city with a relatively small tax base, and a financially constrained General Fund, in this tax reform era, come up with the money to build a $1 million dollar+ sports complex?

This question recognizes the fact that the City could not fund the construction of this project. In fact, other than fertilizer and weed control, the City did not contribute any hard cash to the construction of the fields. Remarkably, all of the other development costs were paid for through grants and donations.

This is the modern day equivalent of a community barn raising, where everyone joins together and pitches in to get the job done. This can serve as the model for similar projects, here and elsewhere, in the future. The elements of this project that made it successful are as follows:

1. It started with a clear “end use” with wide appeal: to build a facility to serve as the home for soccer games, and for other sports as well. There are hundreds of Lake Wales youth who play soccer who would benefit from the building of such a complex.


2. The project is inclusive. Sports and youth activities attract families from all income levels and neighborhoods. The development of this project required the cooperation of many people and organizations, and everyone involved welcomed the contributions that new partners brought to the project.


3. The project had a driving force in Robbie Shields, Tony Mathewson, and the other directors of the Ridge Soccer League. They were willing to do a tremendous amount of work.


4. The city staff and the soccer league directors recognized and capitalized on opportunities.

With these four cornerstones, the City’s inability to fund the project was not an obstacle. The directors of the Ridge Soccer League were willing to conduct fundraisers and go after grants to make the dream come true. Along the way there were other “spin-off” benefits, such as the re-establishment of the City’s Recreation Advisory Committee, and participation in countywide recreation meetings.

In this new era of tax reform, the development of this project is the new paradigm of community capital projects. A single local government alone will be less likely to have the financial resources to make large community improvements.

The next challenge will be to ensure that there is adequate funding for maintenance. The same ingenuity that was used to build the complex will be needed to develop the resources to properly maintain it. New ideas include:

• A small maintenance fee will be charged to players for each season;


• For a certain fee, a field and the entire complex could be named for a person or a company for several years;


• The fields could display company advertisements on field fences; and


• A fee could be charged for use of the concession stand and for use of the field for clinics.

As one speaker noted at the grand opening Saturday, the Soccer/Multi-Purpose Sports Complex is a good example of the spirit of Lake Wales – a town with a strong sense of community!

A few Facts in response to a letter in Saturday’s edition

• A position’s total compensation consists of a salary and benefits. Unfortunately, a letter in Saturday’s paper mistakenly stated the total compensation for the City Manager position as “salary”. The salary budgeted for that position in the current fiscal year is $105,527 (which includes $4,058.73 in deferred compensation). How does that compare to City Manager salaries in other cities of similar size in our area?


• Auburndale Salary $117,042, car allowance $500/month


• Haines City Salary $133,413, car allowance $375/month
• City Manager car allowance: The car allowance of $400 per month is the same amount provided in the employment contract dated July 3, 2001, when regular un-leaded was $1.22!