This observation deck along the 1st base line and right field was the subject of discussion at the City Council Work Session Tuesday. NUBA proposed paying back $10,000 of the $150,000 the deck cost over a five year period.
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NEW ULM — New Ulm Baseball Association (NUBA) presented a plan to pay the city of New Ulm back some of $150,000 for the deck at Johnson Park.
In 2019, the city paid $150,000 from reserve funds in June 2019. The city was to be reimbursed with revenue from the ballpark hosting the 2020 Men’s State Amateur Baseball Tournament. The tournament was then canceled due to COVID-19, and this revenue never came.
Last month NUBA asked City Council to waive their repayment completely. City Council unanimously rejected this idea, saying it would set a dangerous precedent and would be unfair to the other sports organizations in New Ulm.
On Tuesday, NUBA president Bob Skillings presented the association’s proposal they pay $10,000 of what they owe over the next five years. Skillings gave five reasons why NUBA believes this offer is fair to the city. A majority of the reasons are related to the continued care, maintenance, and upgrading of Johnson and Mueller fields.
“We have a lot of new seating for the fan experience at Johnson Park,” Skillings said. “We’ve paid for all of it. We’re a volunteer organization completely and we’ve spent countless hours not only cleaning and taking care of the new deck, but also the ballparks themselves. If you’ve been to Johnson Park you know about the welcome sign on center field. Our organization makes sure it’s visible to the thousands of fans that come down.”
Aside from what they do at the ballpark, Skillings also referenced the donations NUBA makes to the Park and Rec department. Skillings said NUBA has donated $15,000 to Park and Rec this year alone, and they generally meet this total every year.
Councilman Dave Christian was the first to comment on NUBA’s proposal. He said he had mixed feelings regarding the situation, but acknowledged this payback method was necessary.
“One thing I’d hate to see is you paying the debt back and there’s no more donations going to our ballparks. All your funding goes to this instead of improvements [and donations]. I’m gonna be open about it. I’m alright with it because I made the statement [in 2019] if things go bad, we still own it.”
Councilman Les Schultz was next to share his opinion. He sympathized with everyone who was involved and dedicated their time and effort to the cancelled 2020 baseball tournament. He said he supported NUBA’s plan and suggested potentially having a longer period for payback if NUBA needed it.
Mayor Kathleen Backer and Council members Eric Warmka, Larry Mack, and Andrea Boettger also threw their support behind the proposal from NUBA. Backer acknowledged the repayment number seemed too small at first glance. After considering the factors and what NUBA does for the community, Backer changed her stance.
“I reacted like I think some of the community people would react like ‘Oh my, that’s not much,’” she said. “When I started looking at what else is done, the donations to the park and rec we approved tonight, the furniture, and taking care of the signs. You continue to give back as best you can and beyond a lot of other organizations. When we look at justifying this, we can say yes.”
No action was taken as actions are not taken during work sessions. Boettger encouraged NUBA to get a plan together with city staff so it can be approved during a City Council meeting.