The East Lake Youth Sports Association (ELYSA) is requesting the County Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) to fund East Lake youth sports facilities in a manner similar to neighboring communities, supported by the levee of an ad valorem tax of 0.25 mills on homeowners in East Lake area. ELYSA envisions our organization falling under the umbrella of the Palm Harbor Community Services Agency (PHCSA) similar to the local East Lake Community Library.
Why is this important?
ELYSA receives no public money to support costs related to the operation of the athletic fields used by our three primary youth sports, Baseball/Softball, Football/Cheerleading and Soccer. All of these facility costs are absorbed by the individual sports and ultimately passed on to the families who participate in them. These facility operating expenses cause East Lake registration fee’s to be consistently higher than neighboring sports organizations who benefit by some level of public support. At 30 plus years old, the original complex is in need of major repairs and upgrades. With no public source of funding, needed repairs cannot be accomplished through registration fees alone. In addition, the sport of Lacrosse is becoming extremely popular and its demand by East Lake residents is going unmet.
