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Zephyrhills youth football leagues feud over goal posts
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Published: June 18, 2009
ZEPHYRHILLS - A pair of rival youth football leagues are still bickering after the City Council decided only one league could stay at the city's Krusen Field.
The latest round of charges and countercharges revolved around a pledge from one league president to donate goalposts to the other league.
Council members voted 3-2 to award exclusive use of the city field to Zephyrhills Police Athletic League (ZPAL) after league president Mark LaMonte provided proof that his league was insured.
The upstart Zephyrhills Pasco Police Athletic League (ZPPAL) was forced to relocate to a county facility, Sam Pasco Park, on Chancy Road. LaMonte offered to donate the goalposts to help aid the transition, but when the posts were delivered to ZPPAL, league officials declined to accept them.
Board member Marsha Decena accused LaMonte of delivering "old cut down basketball poles" and questioned the safety of the materials. She ordered a set of goalposts from a sporting goods manufacturer at a cost of nearly $3,500, and now she wants the city to force ZPAL to reimburse her league for the expense.
LaMonte said he paid more than $1,500 to have a set of steel goal posts fabricated by Florida Playground, a Tampa company that specializes in custom swing sets. He planned to have the pieces welded together and erected at the site. But after the latest round of allegations, he took them back and got permission to install them at Krusen Field for his league.
Rick Moore, the city's parks and recreation director weighed in on the controversy, saying the goalposts were approved by the city's engineer and would have met the city's safety standards.
"The letter from [Decena] indicates that they are not safe. This is NOT true," Moore wrote in a memo to council members.
The issue will be on Monday's council agenda. And Council President Jodi Wilkeson also released a statement concerning Decena's request that the city intervene on behalf of the league.
"Considering Council was not consulted prior to her decision to purchase the goal posts, I believe we have no legal basis to compel ZPAL to make reimbursement," Wilkeson wrote.
Reporter Laura Kinsler can be reached at (813) 259-8109.
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