By RON LARSEN

Journal Staff Writer

NEW ULM -- A budget-cut beleaguered Park and Recreation Department now faces a $170,000 slash for 2004 after taking a $220,000 hit for 2003, commission members were told Monday.

Director Dave Bechtold said his staff has endured "hours of looking at ways to cut existing programs, along with the yelling and slamming of doors."

Preliminary numbers, which have been submitted to the city manager, include "zeroing out capital funds," cutting recreational programs, getting by with fewer employees and foregoing the hiring of a custodian for the civic center in October and a maintenance person in January, Bechtold said.

"While cuts are being made in all eight divisions, the major part-time cuts are in the turf maintenance and recreational programs. I just can't make all these divisions work with what we have to cut for 2004," Bechtold explained.

"I have to hand it to Cheryl (Kormann who handles rentals for the department). She found a way to whittle costs so we can keep one (wading) pool open."

Proposed fee increases caused the most debate.

While a number of fees were changed little or left alone, proposed fee increases for day and night football games saw a significant jump, going from $320 to $500 for day football and $335 to $550 for night football.

Day baseball games would go from $43 to $60 under the proposed 2004 schedule.

"My supervisor (City Manager Brian Gramentz) told me we should try to cover our maintenance costs. That's why the increases are so large."

"I can see a 3 percent increase. That's cost-of-living, but a 60-percent increase? That's unbelievable," said Commissioner John Vetter, New Ulm Area Catholic Schools athletic director.

Bechtold replied that he wanted to have the proposed fees before the commission now so that the commissioners could review them and get input on them before the commission's September meeting.

"We don't have to do anything on them right now," Bechtold said.

Architect Jeff Stromgren of Rice Stromgren Architects, Minneapolis, was back with a preliminary plan for building the combined concessions/restrooms building at Mueller Park. Only now the architect's cost estimate had grown from a "$70,000-$80,000" figure at the commission's July meeting to $165,000. That would be equal to the architect's estimate for planned improvements at Johnson Park.

Representatives of New Ulm's two baseball groups who will be paying for much of the improvements at both fields asked the architect if the project could be scaled down and other modifications made.

"Because the city really isn't involved in this, can't the people from baseball get together with the architect and work this out?" asked Commissioner Clark Tuttle, the city council representative on the commission. The commission then will act upon whatever proposal comes out of those discussions.

Tracy Clark, representing the River Valley BMX track, presented the group's budget requests for 2004, including $250 for tools and maintenance work (grass cutting) by the department inside the fenced area. She also stated the group's goal is to obtain park designation for the track from the Park and Rec Commission, and she asked if anyone knew of used chain-link fence that could be used to upgrade the fencing at the track.