Dunwoody Senior Baseball opposes city’s free play proposal

Dunwoody Senior Baseball opposes city’s free play proposal


Dunwoody Senior Baseball fields (From file)

An annual report given by Dunwoody Senior Baseball (DSB) officials to the Dunwoody City Council regarding the playing fields at Brook Run Park turned contentious, with the issue over free play time and safety additions riling both sides.

At the Oct. 28 meeting, DSB President Jerry Weiner said the city’s proposed plan to increase public free playing time at the field would severely impact revenues and restrict the programs at the field. He also said that the park consistently sustains damage during those time slots that DSB officials have to address.

Damages that have incurred during free play, Weiner said, include trash left around the facility and damage to its fences. He also said a windscreen that was “intentionally torn” will cost about $14,000 to repair. 

“We are well aware of what happens during the free play times we have now. This is just not Dunwoody citizens who are coming to throw the ball with their kids,” he said. “These are people from outside Dunwoody who are using the fields mainly for adult soccer, and we have to pick up the mess that occurs.”

Weiner also referred to an upcoming city proposal to further increase free play time at the facility that would reduce revenues and further restrict the number of players the program could serve. 

The city is proposing that the DSB fields be open for public access on the third Saturday and Sunday of each month during the summer, which would match that of Brook Run’s other athletic fields’ schedules.

Weiner said the expanded free play time would mean a reduction in program offerings and revenues for the summer program.

“That would affect 25% of the summer games, and that would be devastating to us,” Weiner said.

DSB protests show an emerging pattern

This is not the first time DSB officials have balked, to no avail, to sharing the field beyond its home-grown programs.

In 2020, a plan to give equal treatment to athletic associations using the city’s public fields had DSB reeling at the idea of losing its responsibility of managing the fields. Weiner said the organization was committed to doing a better job managing the fields, but the program was implemented after an audit found discrepancies on how league officials handled money.

In 2021, also against the organization’s wishes, the council approved a facilities usage agreement with the Atlanta Mens Adult Baseball League (Atlanta MABL), a metro area men’s baseball league, that would allow the league to use the baseball fields.

In 2022, the council approved a facility agreement that would allow girls’ softball programs access to the fields after a contentious meeting wherein DSB members stated that including a girls’ program would cripple the baseball program.  

The softball issue again came to the forefront after Weiner’s presentation on Monday.

During council comments, Councilwoman Stacey Harris asked DSB officials to reiterate their intention to support girls’ softball with field time and resources. 

When Weiner said DSB “has always been supportive of girls’ softball,” Harris disagreed with the statement.

“With all due respect, we had to make you accommodate girls’ softball and I’m glad you are doing it and to publicly say that you support girls’ softball,” she said. “Moving on.”

Harris also pointed out that DSB’s presentation did not include any financial information, as is customary with its other community partners making their annual reports to council.

Weiner countered that DSB’s budget is submitted to the city each quarter as mandated by the facility agreement, but Harris countered, “but it’s not in front of us.”

Dunwoody Parks Director Rachel Waldron, in an email to Rough Draft, said the annual reports, at a minimum, must contain “major programming activities, community engagement, significant events impacting operations, major events or initiatives planned for the next 12 months, and opportunities for further support/partnership with the city.”

Safety concerns discussed

Another discussion involving the fields did not involve DSB officials, but was among city council members. 

In his presentation, Weiner said he wants the city to partner with DSB to install protective netting along Barclay Drive to protect passing cars and spectators, which is estimated to cost around $65,000.

However, Waldron said the expenditure was not included in the 2025 proposed budget.

City Councilman John Heneghan said he was disturbed that the council had not been informed of a safety issue that could potentially expose the city.

“This wasn’t brought to us, and I see this as a detriment that this was an issue that the organization raised to the city as a safety issue but it wasn’t brought up to the council,” Heneghan said. “To me this is a shortcoming and that needs to be fixed in the future.”

Harris said she “respectfully disagreed” with Heneghan’s assessment, saying that the council doesn’t need to be “in the weeds” with the budgeting process. He countered that it was more than a budget issue.

“If there’s a broken sidewalk and it’s reported to the city, we are on the hook to fix it. If someone trips and breaks their leg, there’s a lawsuit ready to happen,” Heneghan countered. “For me, it’s a liability, safety, and financial issue. I hope you understand where I’m coming from.” 

The council asked Waldron to explore ways in its 2025 parks’ budget for repair and maintenance at the facility to fund the nets’ installation. 





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