Sports tax focus remains on those with greatest need

Efforts by a suburban Hennepin County commissioner to remove financial need as a primary factor in awarding millions of dollars in grants for youth sports facilities failed on Tuesday.

The plan governing how to use part of a county sales tax that helps pay for the new Twins ballpark was approved mostly unchanged from the original proposal. The sole changes added language that said all county residents should be able to benefit from the county-wide tax and that one of the criteria to be considered when evaluating grant applications would be "equitable distribution throughout the county."

Board Chairman Mike Opat, one of the authors of the original proposal, was quick to point out that "equitable does not mean equal." Commissioner Jeff Johnson failed in his attempt to remove language requiring that grant recommendations "place emphasis on the proposer's financial need."

The measure passed by a 6-0 vote, but only after attempts to amend the measure by Johnson and Jan Callison, who represent the western suburbs, were mostly rejected.

The plan to spend up to $4 million this year and $2 million in following years on youth athletics facilities stems from the 2006 state law that allowed Hennepin County to use a 0.15 percent sales tax to help fund the Twins ballpark. The law included provisions allowing the county to use excess funds from the tax to expand library hours and aid youth sports. That money cannot be used for any other purpose.

The original resolution specifically mentioned "under-served communities and populations" as a target for the funds. That language had disappeared by Tuesday's meeting, but Johnson and Callison wanted to make sure constituents in areas like Orono and Corcoran also had a shot at the sports funds.

Tom Harding, a board member of the Wayzata Girls Rugby Club, told the board that the 80 teenage girls who play on the club's three teams -- one of which was state champion this year -- have no home field to play on. Their trophy is stashed in Brit's Pub in downtown Minneapolis because they have no public place to display it, he said. "We want to have a voice for the western suburbs," he said.

But other commissioners said there wasn't enough money for scholarships and that broadening the scope to include arts activities was contrary to the intent of the ballpark law. Mark Stenglein said he thought it wiser to invest in facilities that will last a long time.

While Callison said the small size of some facilities grants -- they could be anywhere from $10,000 to $400,000 -- shows there is room to carve out some scholarship money, Stenglein said even a $15,000 award to light a soccer field will have lasting impact in a way scholarships do not.

"For me, this really needs to be [spent on] capital projects that will enlarge the facilities that kids can use," he said.

Callison's proposal died when only she and Johnson supported it. After Johnson pointed out that the board's original resolution to develop ballpark legislation dictated that "any monies derived for youth sports as part of the resolution be divided equitably throughout" the county, other commissioners unanimously voted to include equitable distribution as one of the criteria for evaluating grant proposals.

The county will have a contract for no more than $65,000 with the Minnesota Amateur Sports Commission to evaluate applications and recommend grant recipients to the board, which will make the final decisions. Callison questioned what that $65,000 would pay for. The commission's Roger Stawski said three to five people will work on the program part-time. The $65,000 fee is 3.25 percent of the $2 million that would be spent on the program in a normal year. According to Stawski, a more typical charge for grant administration is 10 percent.

Commissioners said they want the program to start as soon as possible. The amateur sports commission will be responsible for distributing information about the program.

In other action, the board approved an application for $93.5 million in federal stimulus funding for transportation projects. Included is $40 million for the second phase of the Lowry Avenue bridge project, $33.5 million for a study on mileage-based user fees as a possible replacement for the state gas tax, and up to $20 million for a ramp to Interstate 35W from 3rd and 4th Streets near downtown Minneapolis.