Hanover Park, Little League clash over new sign at sports complex

As Hanover Park inches closer to upgrading an outdated sports complex, a youth baseball team wants more input on how the village invests in the facility.

One source of division: whether to install a new sign board. The village has budgeted $50,000 for the project, although village officials say it likely won't cost that much.

"How is a $50,000 sign benefiting the kids?" said Mike Byrne, Hanover Park Little League's treasurer.

While Little League leaders say there are more pressing needs, village officials say they're constrained by limited funds earmarked for the site, a mix of baseball and football fields along Barrington Road, just south of Irving Park Road.

"I think we are struggling with this property," Village Manager Juliana Maller recently told trustees. "I don't think it looks the way the community would like it to look."

Both sides acknowledge communication issues.

"We're constantly trying to reach out to the village," Byrne said. "We want to work together, and we would love to see more transparency between them and us."

Hanover Park began leasing the site from the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District two years ago. The goal? Turn around the appearance of the property and leave a better impression on out-of-town visitors to games.

Before the village inked the 39-year deal in 2012, the Little League and Hanover Park Hurricanes, a youth football and cheerleading club, held the lease.

Trustees also overturned a ban on video gambling, setting aside revenue from terminals for the complex and other youth programs.

The village's share of revenue from five establishments totaled about $50,642 from January 2012 to this August, according to the Illinois Gaming Board. The village also receives an annual tax per machine.

The proposed 2015 budget includes $26,000 for new fencing on the north side and $20,000 for maintaining a parking lot and driveways.

Trustee Rick Roberts, a longtime Hurricanes volunteer, backs a permanent sign - replacing homemade and rental ones - as long as there's enough funds to grade and pour new gravel on the complex's roads twice a year.

Trustees also want the village to take over weekly mowing from volunteers associated with the teams - but only outside the athletic fields along Barrington Road at a cost of about $13,500 a year. Volunteers will continue to mow the rest of the site, but officials are frustrated with overgrown weeds.

"We can prod them all we want, but they're volunteers," Roberts said. "Their budgets are very limited."

This year, the Little League expects to pull in $54,000, relying heavily on fees in addition to business sponsorships. The teams are charged with taking care of structures on site, but because of budget constraints, organizers have held off on more long-term fixes like replacing dugouts and bleachers.

Faced with declining enrollment - 80 kids participated in programs this year, down from 250 just two years ago - the league plans to add more events to register players and reach out to schools. The downswing has played out across the Illinois Little League district that includes Hanover Park, Byrne said.

As plans take shape for the site's future, the league wants to become more involved with the village's budget talks.

"We're the troops on the grounds in terms of youth sports," Byrne said. "And we don't feel that our voices are being heard."

Mayor Rodney Craig pledged to include the teams on designs before the village would erect a sign. He's also tossed around an idea to form a group of former players to weigh in on the facility's direction and help with fundraising.

"I know that we've got to get this alumni group going so that we can improve that dialogue," Craig said.