Woodbury Council Balks At $5,000 Write-off For Sports Organization

Councilwoman Amy Scoggins acknowledged that $5,000 isn’t a lot of money compared to the city’s budget.

Still, a measure that would have eliminated $5,257 owed to the city by a local sports organization didn’t sit well with her.

“It made me a little bit annoyed,” Scoggins said.

The Woodbury City Council at its Sept. 14 meeting was prepared to write-off the outstanding debt, which has been sitting on the city’s books since the Woodbury Sports Foundation went through restructuring a few years ago.

Scoggins asked that the item be pulled from the consent agenda, and the council eventually opted to table the matter until it can hear from Woodbury Sports Foundation officials.

She noted that the city has gotten away from issuing these kinds of loans, but also pointed to a discussion last week about .

The Woodbury Sports Foundation—a nonprofit that obtains funds through the sales of high school clothing—paid the city nearly $20,000 for lockers for ’s hockey teams, and the remaining balance is interest, Parks and Recreation Director Bob Klatt said.

“They would like the debt to be forgiven,” he said.

Quipped Councilman Christopher Burns: “I would like my mortgage to be forgiven.”

The payments stopped coming in around the time of the group’s reorganization and it doesn’t have the money to pay off the city, Klatt said.

The Woodbury Athletic Association agreed to settle much of the Woodbury Sports Foundation’s debt (about $55,000), Klatt said, though the two groups are separate entities.

When it appeared that the city would never recover the funds, staff suggested writing off the debt to get it off the books.

Burns said he doesn’t want to set a bad precedent by forgiving the debt so readily.

The Woodbury Sports Foundation also works to create scholarships for students who have difficulties paying activity fees, Klatt said.

Check out more coverage from the Sept. 14 council meeting, including , and a roundup that includes info about a .