A image from Zoom from Monday's meeting.
DERBY — The members of the Derby Board of Aldermen & Alderwomen voted to waive a rental fee so that the St. Joseph High School football team can use Lou DeFilippo Field for a playoff game — but not before two officials said the city isn’t following the procedure it established to rent the multi-million dollar field.
“An application should be filled out. That should be presented to us and then we vote on that,” Alderwoman Sara Widomski said. “This process needs to be changed. It hasn’t worked, and the staff has not been doing its job to bring us information.”
St. Joseph High School in Trumbull is scheduled to play Watertown in the Class M quarterfinals at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday (Dec. 3). It’s considered a home game for St Joseph’s. They asked to play in Derby because their normal home field does not have lights, and the time is dictated by the league.
The Aldermen and Alderwomen met in a special session Monday to consider a memo from Derby Parks & Recreation Director Dennis O’Connell in which he relayed the request from St. Joseph High School to waive the rental fee.
The memo stated that the CIAC (the governing body of high school football) will pay for any Derby police, EMS, and staff required to attend the game — and that the CIAC will collect all money from ticket sales.
The City of Derby will keep any proceeds from concession stands, according to the memo.
However, the memo didn’t provide specifics on dollar amounts for the public, including how much money was being waived.
A review of the city’s field use application puts the rental fee around $1,500.
Former Alderman Charles Sampson (along with former Alderwoman Barbara DeGennaro) created an application and fee schedule for renting the football field (built thanks to a $3 million state grant), along with the rules and fees for renting the $23 million field house and softball field, which was financed by Joan Payden to honor the memory of her father.
The facilities, while not funded directly by Derby citizens, are maintained by local taxes, and Derby has been in bad shape financially for years.
Alderman Rob Hyder said elected officials have been asking for years for a spreadsheet detailing how much money has been generated renting out the facilities. The Alders have never received an accounting as requested, Hyder said. He also pointed out that turf fields have a 10-year lifespan, and the fields are about five years old or so.
“Payday is coming. The rent is due. Let’s start collecting these fees,” Hyder said.
During the public comment portion of Monday’s meeting, former Alderman Gino DiGiovanni Jr. said he supported waiving the fee, especially since Derby football relied on the generosity of other towns when the field was being built.
Ultimately the board voted to approve the fee waiver for St. Joseph of Trumbull by a 4 – 2 vote with one abstention.
