Local nonprofit Summit County Softball is scrambling to save its summer season at the Silverthorne ballfields below Dillon Dam.
On April 9, Summit County manager Dave Rossi sent a letter to the adult recreational league saying the county will save $100,000 if regular summer maintenance ceases.
“We’ve made the difficult decision that the best use of taxpayer funds is to convert the area to a casual recreation area at much less expense, including occasional mowing and trash removal with the resources and equipment we already have,” Rossi wrote.
The property is owned by Denver Water, but for more than 40 years the county has maintained the ballfields and nearby rodeo grounds.
Also wrapped up in the county’s decision are staffing concerns and failing equipment, along with recently upgraded ballfields at Kingdom Park in Breckenridge, where the town installed artificial turf for nearly $3 million.
“As other ballfields around the county have expanded or made significant improvements, the use of the county’s ballfields has fallen dramatically,” Rossi continued.
League officials, including director Steve “Smoke” Wilkins, question what else is wrapped up in the county’s $100,000 figure.
Wilkins tells Krystal 93 Silverthorne charges $30,000 to water the fields. Beyond that, he says, the number does not make sense. He believes you cannot put a price on a league, founded in 1972, with more than 400 players countywide. The Silverthorne ballfields alone host at least a dozen games and more than 120 players every week, late May through September.
Abandoning regular maintenance at the ballfields might be the first of many small cuts as the county hopes to save millions of dollars, in the face of shrinking revenues and growing expenses.
“We’re going to try to figure out how we can pinch pennies as much as we can,” county commissioner Nina Waters tells Krystal 93. “There’s going to be some cuts. We’re going to try to do cuts to things that aren’t necessarily going to impact your day to day life and we definitely don’t want to cut staff.”
What’s next?
The league is planning for a summer without Silverthorne. Wilkins says those games, particularly a Wednesday night men’s league, can move to Breckenridge. But that means extending the summer season and scrapping the fall men’s league.
Denver Water has told the softball league it will only sign a use agreement with a local government, not the league itself. The league is considering a partnership with Silverthorne if the county does not play ball.
League officials will be at the county commissioners meeting on April 22 at 1 p.m. to plead their case.
Note: Krystal 93 news director Phil Lindeman plays in this league.