Worcester city councilors ask for more transparency with Polar Park management

WORCESTER — A request to transfer a deed from the Worcester Redevelopment Authority to Polar Park's Ballpark Commission spurred a wider discussion from the City Council Tuesday of the Ballpark Commission's role and whether there is enough transparency in the operation of Polar Park.

Two city councilors who initially opposed the formation of the Ballpark Commission had several questions about it.

District 3 City Councilor George Russell asked City Manager Eric D. Batista if Polar Park was making money and on target to pay its debt.

Russell referenced recent news about a study written by Robert W. Baumann, a Holy Cross professor of economics, and John Charles Bradbury, a professor of economics, finance and quantitative analysis at Kennesaw State University in Georgia.

The report included an analysis of the pro forma model the city used to calculate future revenues for the ballpark and came out projecting a $40 million to $60 million deficit for the city from Polar Park.

Batista responded that the ballpark is making money and is paying off the debt. He added there are no budget shortfalls from the ballpark in this fiscal year.

Councilor-at-Large Khrystian King said he wanted an explanation about what the Ballpark Commission is doing in terms of care, custody and control and wanted a report back on its meetings that included meeting notations.

According to the city calendar, the Ballpark Commission has met twice so far in 2023 on Feb. 15 and May 19.

King also asked for details of the city's current agreement with the ballpark about the number of community events that are supposed to be hosted at Polar Park annually and who is responsible for granting use of the ballpark for those days.

Batista said there are 10 days allotted for community events that are available to city partners or nonprofits where the ballpark fees are waived and the commission handles renting out the ballpark for the events.

Saying he doubted that all of those days have been filled, King requested a report on how many requests have been processed.

"If we're in season three, I would venture to say that perhaps there have not been 30 decisions made by this commission relative to these sorts of events we are speaking about," King said.

When asked by King, Batista said he did not immediately know the number of such events held last year but he would be happy to provide a report.

King and Russell were the two councilors who voted against the formation of the Ballpark Commission in 2021.

"I made it very clear repeatedly when it came before us that this is our responsibility to have oversight on this particular ballpark," King said.

King added that the City of Pawtucket is suing the minor league baseball team, alleging the team failed to maintain and repair McCoy Stadium, the former home of the team before it moved to Worcester.

Batista said the commission reports to him.

"They do report to me. I also appoint all of the members of the board. So they are responsible to have oversight of a lot of the decisions that I'm making there," Batista said.

The city is also the landlord to the ballpark property, just as it is for the DCU Center, Batista said. Being the property landlord comes with an obligation to fulfill the needs of the tenants, the city manager added.

Referencing a Telegram & Gazette report that the city may not have booked any concerts at Polar Park yet due in part to a center field doorway not being tall enough for large trucks that carry concert equipment, King also requested a report about the barriers to hosting concerts at the ballpark.

Russell asked what the harm would be of having control of the ballpark go to the city manager as opposed to the commission.

City Solicitor Michael Traynor said it was less of a matter of harm than it was precedent for the city to have a board, commission or department handle the day-to-day operation of its properties.

Russell requested that the item be amended so that the ballpark goes to the care of the city manager because Batista would still have to report back to the City Council. However, Traynor said changing the care, custody and control could not be done on the fly Tuesday, as it would require submission of a reorganization ordinance.

"It should have some kind of a give-and-take and some kind of a conversation between the council openly and publicly about what's going on there," Russell said.

While he understood the order and would be happy to bring back a report, Batista asked Russell why the city should take a different approach for the ballpark than it does with the DCU Center, which has a Civic Center Commission.

"Why are we treating one building as a city that we own different than another building?" Batista said.

Russell said his general point is that there is a greater need for transparency around the ballpark, even though he trusts the city manager's word about its finances.

"This ballpark has been a big item for many of the citizens of the city of Worcester. It's been a great, great positive thing," Russell said. "But it's also something that has to be as transparent as possible. It's something this council shouldn't be surprised at and this community shouldn't be surprised about."

District 2 City Councilor Candy Mero-Carlson mentioned that the city has a suite at Polar Park with the city seal on it that the city cannot use. Traynor explained that the city still owns the suite, but issues with ethics law prevents the city from using it. The WooSox rent out the suite to others on the city's behalf and the city receives the proceeds, Traynor said.

Evictions by out-of-towners

Councilor-at-Large Thu Nguyen delayed to the next meeting an item on a transmission of Traynor's legal opinion about the city manager's potential authority over court-appointed special process servers.

In his opinion, Traynor wrote that the city cannot interfere with who a judge appoints someone to carry out an eviction or foreclosure in the city. Nguyen has been vocal about asking the city manager to stop outside constables from carrying out evictions after reports of forceful methods by these constables had surfaced.

The City Council also moved a few items designating honorary street names and a renaming of the Indian Hill Park sports facility.

King and District 4 City Councilor Sarai Rivera requested Main Street between Highland Street and School Street be given the honorary name Judge Luis G. Perez Way after the former juvenile court judge and active community member.

King and Rivera also requested Irving Street, between Austin and Pleasant streets, be given the honorary name Dr. Ogretta V. McNeil Way after the former School Committee member and Holy Cross professor who died in 2016.

District 1 Councilor Sean Rose requested Indian Hill Park's sports facility be renamed after Sara Robertson, the first woman mayor of Worcester, who died May 7 in Florida.

Robert Williams also requested that Plantation Terrace be given the honorary street name of "John the Barber" Way after John D'Iorio, who owns D'Iorio's, a salon at 335 Plantation St.

Councilor-at-Large Morris Bergman requested the city manager consider implementing a moratorium on creating any new city parks until all existing city parks are satisfactorily maintained, upgraded or completed.

King said that while he understood the spirit of the order, he did not want to tie the hands of the city manager in case new funding for a new park comes in or other unforeseen factors. King noted his opposition to the order be sent to the Standing Committee on Veterans' Memorials, Parks and Recreation.

Other councilors said they were open to working out any issues with the language of the order in committee.

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Polar Park transparency questions raised by Worcester City Council