Steamboat Pilot & Today

Steamboat Springs — The Steamboat Springs City Council will consider the second and final reading of a new five-year contract with Triple Crown at tonight's council meeting.

Residents and business owners are expected to offer their thoughts on the hotly debated contract during a public hearing before the council votes on the ordinance ratifying the contract. The City Council voted 6-1 on July 2 to approve the first reading of the contract.

According to the agreement, the city will spend $75,000 for field improvements, Triple Crown will not seek use of the fields at Emerald Park until a secondary access into the park is built and Triple Crown will keep its hours of operation similar to what they are now.

The agreement calls for the city to pay about $31,000 a year to maintain all the facilities for the tournaments and for Triple Crown to invest $15,000 for improvements or development projects. The Chamber Resort Association has also agreed to pay the $75,000 sponsorship fee, something the city paid in the current five-year contract.

Chamber Executive Vice President Sandy Evans-Hall said she hopes that a wide range of community members attend tonight's meeting in support of the contract.

"I have spoken to several people about the meeting and I hope there's a bit of support there from various sectors the outlying communities that depend on Triple Crown, the businesses that depend on it locally and the local baseball and softball players that utilize the fields and have had the opportunity to play in Triple Crown," Evans-Hall said.

Last week, the council received more than 15 letters from local businesses supporting the Triple Crown contract and asking council members to vote in favor of it.

Although more than 50 people attended the July 2 meeting, just seven people commented on the agreement.

Stuart Orzach, president of the Yampa Valley Community Alliance, said he expects more members of his organization to come and speak at tonight's public meeting. During the July 2 meeting, Orzach argued the new contract should further limit the hours of operation for Triple Crown and reduce the size of the organization's tournaments. He also argued that the city should not subsidize Triple Crown.

Omar Campbell, who has spoken against the contract and asked that residents get the chance to vote on it, also plans to speak at tonight's meeting.

Campbell said if the ordinance is passed tonight, residents could initiate a petition drive to force a vote on the issue. But for a referendum to be put on the ballot, the petition would need around 2,000 signatures by the middle of August, a hard task for such little time, Campbell said.