Old Orchard Beach eliminates Ballpark Manager position

OLD ORCHARD BEACH — The Ballpark will soon be under the management of the town's recreation department.

The Town Council voted on the 2021 fiscal year budget Tuesday night.

The budget included a new management plan for The Ballpark, a town-owned facility on Ballpark Way, off E. Emerson Cummings Boulevard. Though previously scheduled festival-style events have been canceled this year because of COVID-19, the facility has a steady line-up of baseball games scheduled this summer.

The Ballpark is currently managed by Operations Manager Guy Fontaine, who works closely with a volunteer group called the The Ballpark Commission.

However, Fontaine’s position will cease at the end of this month, which also marks the end of the current fiscal year. Under a new plan approved by the Town Council on Tuesday, The Ballpark will be under the direction of the recreation department beginning July 1. Recreation department staff will take on the duties of managing the park and scheduling events, and the position of Operations Manager will be eliminated.

Town Manager Larry Mead said he discussed the proposal to Recreation Director Jason Webber and Assistant Director Nikki Duplisea prior to the Tuesday’s Town Council meeting.

“They told me that they are very confident that they would be able to step in and provide those management and scheduling functions for this coming fiscal year,” said Mead.

The new plan will reduce annual expenses at The Ballpark from $104,700 to $74,1000. It removes the $35,600 salary of the operations manager, and corresponding $4,200 FICA costs. It also removes $700 for cell phone service, as the recreation department staff already have cell phones. The town will have to pay about $6,000 for unemployment benefits for Fontaine and will have to pay about $2,000 for winterizing of buildings at The Ballpark, a task that Fontaine did annually as part of his duties as operations manager.

The council agreed on the new plan without much discussion.

The Town Council on Tuesday approved a $17.4 million Fiscal Year 2021 operating budget. The budget is about a 1.4 percent increase from the current year’s municipal operating budget.

The town council also approved a $1.7 million capital improvement budget. Though the total capital improvement budget for Fiscal Year 2021 is about $33,000 than the current year’s capital improvement budget, about $500,000 is coming from the undesignated fund balance. The $500,000 draw from the undesignated fund balance would be used for a project, that if approved by voters, would use combined federal and town funding to make sewer and road improvements in the Washington Avenue area.

The municipal budget, combined with county taxes and the proposed school budget, is estimated to decrease the mil rate by eight cents to $15.43.

 Publisher Liz Gotthelf can be reached at [email protected].