Coast supervisor slammed for failing to cover cost of youth sports league uniforms
The board members of a popular youth sports league decided to disband after the county failed to pay $15,000 for the players’ uniforms, but the county is waiting on financial records that would show the group needs the money, Supervisor Connie Rockco and the parks and recreation director said.
Residents weighing in about Saucier Youth Sports are in a very public quarrel with Rockco. In Facebook comments, she was called “a moron” and “a crook.”
The ball league sponsors around 300 children ages 4-16. The league’s vice president, Daniel Rolison, maintains Rockco reneged on a promise to pay for the childrens’ uniforms after the county took over the park concession stand, which generated a revenue stream Saucier Youth Sports used for expenses.
Rockco and two others at the county meeting with Rolison about a year ago deny she made such a promise. Besides, as one of five supervisors, Rockco is unable to spend the county’s money. The Board of Supervisors would have to approve funding and Rockco said she needs financial justification to make the request.
“We were trying to help them and no good deed goes unpunished, right?” Rockco told the Sun Herald.
Facebook comments turn ugly
Facebook comments indicate residents do not understand how the county operates or why Rockco doesn’t just turn over the money.
“Give the concession back,” one person wrote under a Saucier Youth Sports post that drew more than 100 comments. “What does Connie do with the funds?”
“Pocket it,” someone responded without a shred of proof.
Rockco, who has been in office for 21 years, says she’s noticed a deterioration in the civility of public discourse on social media.
“I’m not used to people being so mean and disrespectful,” said Rockco, who responded to some of the comments for awhile but finally gave up. “ It’s just happened over the last few years, that people have just gone in disregard of anybody.”
‘But you don’t call somebody a moron because you don’t like their policy. I’m looking out for the greater good.”
How sports league concessions work
Leagues ran their own concession stands on county fields until the county began to consider its liability, county attorney Tim Holleman said. In May 2019, the county contracted with a private vendor, GB Concessions, to operate concession stands for soccer, a big draw at the County Farm Road Soccer complex.
The agreement was extended in February 2020 to include the Saucier ball fields on Saucier Lizana Road and Woolmarket ball complex on Old Woolmarket Road.
The concessionaire has a Health Department permit for food service and the agreement requires GB Concessions to pay 27% of gross revenue to the county.
Rockco, Parks and Recreation Director Bobby Trosclair, and a representative from Holleman’s office met with Saucier Youth Sports vice president Daniel Rolison in February to talk about the agreement and how the league would cover its expenses going forward.
He said Rockco agreed to pay for the uniforms for 2020 and said they would re-evaluate in 2021 when the county saw how much revenue it received from concessions.
“We left the meeting on good terms,” said Rolison, the only one in the meeting who recalls Rockco making such a promise.
The Woolmarket and Saucier concession stands wound up not making money because COVID-19 shut them down for the season, which was also shortened by one month.
Still, county officials are trying to figure out how much in funding they can offer both Saucier and Woolmarket Youth/Baseball Softball, the nonprofit organization that runs that league. Trosclair says Woolmarket has provided complete financial records and is being understanding about the county’s position.
Saucier Youth Sports and financial transparency
Saucier Youth Sports, he said, is another story. Its financial information is incomplete, he said. Rolison insists he’s already provided the county with all the financial details it needs, but Trosclair said he doesn’t have the cost of uniforms for previous years, revenue from registration and sponsorships, and other details.
“Every attempt to ask (Rolison) for information, he doesn’t have time for it,” Trosclair said. “And he is just a volunteer, so maybe he doesn’t have time for it, but if you’re wanting the county to pay for something, you’re going to have to be transparent.”
“ . . . He’s upset, and I understand that. At the same time, you have to provide details so we know everything’s on the up and up.”
Rolison says that he runs his own business, coaches travel baseball and drives race cars. He has been involved with Saucier youth baseball since he was a child himself and wants to help, he said, but he believes he’s already given the county all the financial information it needs.
“I would love for someone to maybe step up and maybe take it over, but I wouldn’t recommend it to anybody without giving that association some kind of financial stability because you’re going to go bankrupt,” he said.
Saucier Youth Sports has about $16,000 left in its account after paying the uniform bill the county hasn’t picked up. Other annual expenses include umpire fees, insurance and alarm bills. The group also earns money from registration, but that fee is sometimes waived for families that can’t afford it.
The sports league also spends money on extras for the players, like portable pitching mounds.
The county Board of Supervisors must decide how much money it might be able to give the leagues to compensate for the loss of concessions, or turn the concessions back over to the leagues with the understanding that they will get health department permits.
D’Iberville, which took over its league concession, provides a $4,000 annual stipend, Trosclair said.
This story was originally published January 22, 2021 at 12:22 PM.
