How important is Capitol Little League? Here’s what the port commission heard on Monday
Port of Olympia commission meetings rarely involve tears, but there may not have been a dry eye on Monday evening after a resident and his adopted disabled son got up to address the port commission about what Capitol Little League baseball means to them.
The future of the league, which has rented land from the Port for 24 years for its ball fields near Olympia Regional Airport, is in doubt now that the port says it plans to charge fair-market rent for the property. That means that starting next year, the annual rent for the 10.6 acre site will jump nearly tenfold from the $9,200 the organization is paying this year. And starting in 2025, rent will again rise to about $160,000 a year.
Port officials say Federal Aviation Administration rules require them to charge fair-market rent. Capitol Little League officials say they can’t afford it, and if they have to move, they’re not sure where they will go.
That’s what prompted Tom Tune and his son, David, to attend Monday’s meeting.
Tune, who said he was the first president of the league, introduced his son by telling the commission that years ago he was a babysitter for David, but that “they never came back and got him.”
“So we adopted David,” he told the commission. “We didn’t know it then, but we fell in love with him and he’s the light of our life.”
Tune said his son takes part in Capitol Little League, and although he can’t tell time, he waits by the door every Sunday, ready to play baseball.
Tune said the league’s first contract with the port was $1 per year.
“I can’t fathom how it went from that to what it is today,” he said, “and now he (David) may not have a place to play ball. This is a choice the port is making. Instead of forcing them out, you should be lowering rent.”
Tune went on to say that Capitol Little League doesn’t turn anyone away, including disabled children.
“I’m flabbergasted,” he said. “My father always said the hardest thing to do is the right thing sometimes. What a great community this would be if we followed that advice, because if we’re following your lead, what a sad place it would be to live. Please rethink your position.”
Although the proposed lease with Capitol Little League might draw a hard line in the sand, the port commission on Monday seemed amenable to coming up with a solution.
Commissioner Bob Iyall said he met with Congresswoman Marilyn Strickland Monday afternoon to talk about disadvantaged business enterprises, but all she wanted to talk about was Capitol Little League.
“This is the one topic everywhere I go somebody asks me about it,” he said.
Commissioner Joe Downing said he, too, has been pulled aside by people concerned about the Little League.
“It’s really as much the port’s problem as it is Capitol Little League because prior commissions decided to give them 11 acres at a reduced rate,” he said. “Now that we’ve set that precedent, we can’t just turn around and jack up the rates tenfold.”
Commissioner Amy Evans Harding shared some thoughts as well.
“Maintaining access to recreation and sports is critical for our community,” she said. “I am confident we will find a solution to do that.
So, what is next for Capitol Little League and the port?
Airport senior manager Warren Hendrickson told the commission he has two meetings planned, one with the board officers of Capitol Little League, the other a community meeting he plans to host. He said the meeting will be similar to one he held earlier in the year to answer questions about Olympia Regional Airport.
Dates for the meetings haven’t been set yet.
