East Butler Baseball Association locked out from ball fields indefinitely
EAST BUTLER — Baseball season may have ended, but the stalemate between the borough and the East Butler Baseball Association is far from over.
At its monthly meeting on Monday night, Nov. 6, the borough council voted unanimously to keep the East Butler Baseball Association locked out from use of the borough’s baseball fields for the 2024 season unless the association reopens negotiations on a contract for the use of the fields.
The lockout began in early August and has persisted.
“We're not saying that they can't come back,” said council president Kevin Hesidenz. “But as long as there's individuals doing what they’re doing, we can’t. They have become a liability to this borough.”
Hesidenz added the borough will soon send the association a letter notifying it of the situation.
No one from the association was on hand at Monday’s meeting, unlike last month, when several volunteers from the group showed up to air their grievances over the situation.
According to Hesidenz and the rest of borough council, the East Butler Baseball Association — in particular, association president Juan Gonzalez — has stubbornly refused to come to a resolution with the borough regarding use of the fields.
“I was probably the one who kept saying, ‘Let’s keep trying, let’s keep trying,’” said council member Tracie Williams. “We can only try so much.”
Hesidenz said the association has failed to provide the same level of documentation as other youth baseball associations in the county, including child clearances and financial statements.
“We’ve asked them for child clearances. We’ve asked them for financials. We’ve asked them for their board. They won’t give us nothin’,” Hesidenz said.
The lack of child clearances is a “red flag,” according to Hesidenz.
“We want the kids to play ball up there, but we want to make sure that there's no child predator up there, or that there isn’t someone up there that sells drugs,” Hesidenz said. “So there’s more to it than just ‘let the kids play ball.’”
The East Butler baseball complex, located on 10th Street, consists of four fields for baseball and softball. The largest of them is the Speed-O Field, which is surrounded by light towers to allow for night games.
The borough owns the land on which the Speed-O Field and the rest of the baseball complex sits. However, the association has taken on the responsibility of maintaining the fields — at least, before they were locked out.
Some members of the group have accused the borough of neglecting the field during the dispute and letting it go uncut, making it unsafe for players to use even if they were allowed to use it. However, Hesidenz contends the borough has not only cut the grass, but invested $18,000 in safety improvements for the field during the past year.
“The only thing we haven’t done is turn the property over to them,” Hesidenz said. “And this borough’s residents have made it clear that that’s not what needs to be done.”
Borough council said it has received no reply to its latest contract offer, which was sent last month.
Association members, including Marie Porter, have maintained they were presented with a contract that they simply could not sign, and they have retained legal counsel.
It was forced to play “home” games of their 2023 “fall ball” season in Prospect.
All members of the council declined to talk to the Eagle following the meeting.
