Board members of the Wetumpka Youth Baseball and Softball League are beside themselves.
The City of Wetumpka issued a release Wednesday which the league said makes false statements and goes against an agreement made Sunday afternoon.
“Board members are at a loss for the ill-treatment they are receiving by City of Wetumpka’s officials and the untruthful statements in the [city’s] release,” the league said in a statement.
The league said the Sunday meeting resulted in a mutual agreement where no one would publicly comment about the discussions or the agreement until May 12, a deadline for the agreement to be signed.
“We agreed to not make any statements publicly until this was resolved because we wanted these kids to be able to finish out their season and play ball,” the league said.
Coming out of the Sunday meeting the only statement made was to play ball until the city issued a statement Wednesday listing “concerning activities” where the city accused the league of subleasing the fields to a for-profit entity.
“We are not subleasing the fields,” the league said. “We are participating with seven other local cities, all of which participate in the same baseball region of USSSA as we are, in a mid-season league ball regional tournament. We scheduled this tournament with the contact listed on the City of Wetumpka’s website as the point of contact for scheduling the Wetumpka Sports Complex and explained in detail the process of this tournament, which is the same way that we have held tournaments in the past for mid-season tournaments and for All-Stars.”
The league said it didn’t advise city officials and legal representatives at the Sunday meeting “that no money was being paid to a for-profit entity, period.”
“This statement is extremely misleading and untrue,” the league said. “We did not assure them that no money was being paid to a for-profit entity. What we told the City of Wetumpka officials is we are hosting 121 teams from seven cities along with other local city parks like Millbrook, Holtville, Clanton and Jemison.”
The league said it participates in USSSA play similar to Dixie League Wetumpka has played in the past.
“Every baseball and softball league is affiliated with a sanctioning body that provides help and
resources to make the season possible,” the league said. “The sanctioning body has official rules and has tournaments for all-stars that we all participate in every year.”
The league said a move from Dixie to USSSA is better for the children playing baseball and softball.
“This gives all of our kids an opportunity to experience tournament play and is more competitive and lines teams up with other teams in other cities that are closer to the same competition level, so everyone has an opportunity to compete,” the league said.
The league said it provided the city financial documentation it was requesting as a result of the Sunday meeting and agreement and was working to complete the task before the Wednesday city statement.
“[The league] is in the process of making sure that the bank statements are redacted appropriately, so that a parent’s address and checking account number is not shared purposely or accidentally with someone outside of the City of Wetumpka officials,” the league said.
The league questioned how the city can allow other tournaments to occur at city owned facilities.
“As we have maintained throughout this process, we have nothing to hide,” the league said. “We all have full-time jobs, but dedicate countless hours to ensuring all players have successful seasons. Youth athletics is so important for kids. We do everything for the kids.”