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The Oakville Beaver's 14th annual Charity Golf Tournament is set for Sept 15 at Wyldewood Golf and Country Club in Homby. All monies raised will be go to Oakville Trafalgar Memorial Hospital, which has received a total of more than a quarter mil- lion dollars from the past 13 tournaments. This year's goal is $32,000. IT'S A DATE Cost for entering a foursome is $800 ($200 per lay, GST included). Prize donations and hole sponsorships are also accepted. Contact tournament chairman Geoff Hill at 845-9742 or 845- 9743 for information. PRIDHAM LOSES Oakville’s Chris Pn'dham was a first-round victim at the Salem Open tennis tournament in Hong Kong Tuesday. Pfidham, Canada's topÂ¥ranked player, lost to fourth-seeded Amos Mansdorf, 7-6 (9-7), 6-3. Oakville Summer'Roller Hockey League. Teams/players should call Joe Quinlan at 845- 3290...Oakville Summer Basketball Camp, Aug. 30- Sept. 3. Call 336-6669. _....Waterfront Festival 3-on-3 Basketball Tournament seeks entn'es. 825-441...Non-contact rugby league, starting May 1. 338-7533. THURSDAY: Halton Open high school badminton champi- onships at Notre Dame. - SATURDAY: 29th annual Gold Awards, presented by CHWO 1250 radio to 400 minor hockey participants. 9:30 am. to 12:30 pm. at Hopedale Mall. APRIL 27: High school soc- cer kicks off its season. APRIL 24-25: Oakville Soccer Club rep team try-outs (see Wednesday's Beaver). Announcing BIG. BIG. >SPOR TS 1 AND RECREATION | THE OAKVILLE BEAVER | TASIFOFTHE MONTH J User fees mean players will payup to $10 each more next year These fees, according to a staff pro- U’ ‘ posal, are average charges, since final costs would depend on the quality of C fields used by organizations (the town designates fields as Levels 1, 2 or 3, depending on amenities such as lighting and level of main- tenance). Youth leagues are eligible for a 25 per cent rebate, bringing their costs to $7.03 per per- These fees, which would also be subject to sales tax, have only an April 27 H Community Services Committee meeting I to hurdle before going to Town Council for final approval, May 3. nv “Philosophically, it’s a poll tax on kids, and they’re making tax collectors of the volunteers,” charged Brian Grantham, Oakville Sports Council secretary and past president of the Oakville Minor Baseball Association. “Kids need affordable sports. ‘Some can’t afford it. I’m afraid it could put some kids out.” By TED McINTYRE Special to the Beaver A meeting of Oakville’s Parks, Culture and Recreation Advisory Committee last week rec- ommended the proposal, which, beginning in 1994, would impose an average head tax of $9.39 for every registered league player using the t0wn's outdoor facilities. But the fact user fees have even progressed this far has distressed several sport organization Tough medicine or an unnecessary evil, user fees are one step closer to fruition. One area 6f concern is that the monies Get ready to dig a little deeper FEATURING BACO 0 (H "Philosophically, it's a poll tax on kids and they 're making tax collectors of the volunteers" 0 0 RE raisedâ€"an estimated $83,000 if all fields are booked to capacityâ€"may not be funnellcd back into the upkeep of existing diamonds and soccer pitches. ' The budget for maintenance of outdoor play- ing fields, in fact, will not be increased from its present level of $411,900. However, recommen- dations for work on particular facilities could be forwarded to Council by town staff, according to Parks and Recreation director Bob Perkins. “One of my concerns is that the town, at the present time, does not have any agreement with the Board of Education with regards to the upgrade of any of its fields,” said Oakville Sports Council president, John Dunk. “Twenty-one or 22 ofpur pitches are Board of Education fields. So where the work is required, we wouldn’t get anything done.” “We’ve told Council ‘Here’s what the groups want, and that. we support it,”’ he explained. “But they won’t (increase the budget). User fees provide the opportunity to increase the level of service without affecting the tax levy.” But that’s not good enough for most area sports reps, Who do not want to pay for part of the upkeep of non-user fee facilities, such as parks and tennis courts, while school fields remain under-maintained. SUNDAY: APRIL 18, 1993 PAGE 28 On the other hand, “nobody’s being charged to walk in the parkettes and sit down on the benches,” Dunk observes. “With respect to grass cutting, the town mows (parks) on a seven day working cycle. On major sports fields, it’s twice a week. That’s more than double,” Perkins cited. “There’s also a greater fertilization program.” Most other surrounding municipalities already have, or are presently investigating, ffl Y user‘fees. “It’s been eight months of chasing numbers," he said. "And we can’t make informed decisions when the toWn’s not telling us how the money is going to be spent." Perkins maintains that the construction and maintenance of sports fields warrants special attention. But the town’s report, critics say, tax fails to take into account what services ’ those areas render in return, such as ,, multi-diamond facilities, lining fields, 5 setting up and storing equipment and covering insurance costsâ€"all of which Oakville would still likely not provide even if the user fees proposal was passed. Grantham believes there is much roOm for the town to improve in efficiency, although Perkins vehemently denies this. “We’ve been under very close scrutiny for several years,” he noted. “I feel we’re giving full value for our budget.” Even if user fees are necessary, communica- tion lines will have to improve before local groups will accept them, contends Grantham, who warns of a "tax revolt" among the town's 11,000 users._ Check OutThe fie}