Oyster Bay park fees could raise $300G annually, official says

Oyster Bay’s town athletic fields will no longer be available for free use to for-profit and out-of-town organizations. The Town Board approved a fee schedule at its regular board meeting last week. The fee schedule, which Parks Commissioner Joseph Pinto said could raise up to $300,000 annually, was first announced last year as a budget deficit-closing measure.

Pinto said in an interview that the fees are directed toward “those organizations that have made a lot of money on our fields, to pay for their upkeep.”

Local nonprofits will need to pay an annual application fee of $50 but will continue to have free use of the town’s fields and lights for nontournament games. Under the new fee schedule, these organizations can hold a single, multigame tournament each year, but to hold additional tournaments they will be required to pay the same fees charged to resident for-profit groups and out-of-town organizations of $50 per game on grass and $60 per game on artificial turf.

Resident for-profit groups and out-of-town organizations will also be charged $75 and $100 annual application fees, respectively, as well as a $10 per-game charge for using field lights.

The town will also start charging fees of $175 for any organization to use a town showmobile, with additional days costing $100, plus a $75 setup fee. Light rentals with showmobiles will cost $50 per day plus a $50 setup fee.