Williamsport City Council was split on a resolution that had previously been tabled, which would authorize an agreement between the city and Hummer Turfgrass Systems to restore the turf at Bowman Field.

Ultimately, the item was left tabled, meaning council did not take action to approve or deny the agreement.

Council voted 4-3 against taking action. Those in favor of removing the agreement from the table were Councilman Randy Allison, Councilman Eric Beiter and Councilwoman Liz Miele. The winning majority voting in favor of keeping the agreement tabled were Councilman Jon Mackey, Councilman Vince Pulizzi, Councilwoman Bonnie Katz and Council President Adam Yoder.

The nearly hour-long discussion was over removing the resolution to split costs with Major League Baseball (MLB) to restore turf at Muncy Bank Park at Historic Bowman Field, a project estimated to keep the surface playable for the annual Little League World Series Classic, which this coming year has the New York Yankees playing the Detroit Tigers in a season regulation game playing for Little League teams, their families and certain invited Little Leaguers.

The other benefits are a field maintained by MLB that is used by high school and college players and the Williamsport Crosscutters, city officials said.

Mayor Derek Slaughter presented the proposal. Hummer Turfgrass Systems has the equipment parked outside of the stadium to redo the playing field at a cost of about $399,000. The city proposal would split the cost of the city-owned field using Act 13 or natural gas impact fee money to offload the residential tax burden, according to city officials.

Yoder was first at bat on the issue and explained why he was voting against taking it off the table.

“I can’t say that I’m comfortable taking it off the table,” Yoder said. “I don’t know if it is a good idea, with all due respect to Major League Baseball.”

Yoder was of the belief that it fell outside of the confines of the contract and was willing to renegotiate.

“If this is something MLB would like to see going forward, I’d like to see it codified in the contract, rather than us doing this first and negotiating after,” he said.

Katz said she would borrow from the mayor’s script about “unknown costs related to continuing investigation into city finances by the attorney general.”

“With the money that MLB is asking — this money should really be for our taxpayers,” Katz said.

She also criticized the last-second-in-the-year timing.

“I don’t understand why this was dumped on us three weeks ago,” she said.

Slaughter responded to that and an allusion to the proposal was made earlier in the summer by saying he did not get the proposal until August.

“I did not have details early in the summer,” he said.

” As soon as I had the information it was brought forward,” he said. ” If I have prudent information I will provide it as quickly as I can.”

Allison said he could understand the hesitation to commit this amount of money but he was agreeable to taking it off the table.

“I think that it offers up an opportunity to be in a strong position,” Allison said. “The adage of not cutting off your nose despite your face is not a perfect analogy but I fear doing that would have repercussions far beyond what we know and can consider,” Allison added.

“I see it in a different light,” Allison said, adding, “having lived in Williamsport all my life and knowing the importance of baseball in this community, it is in the DNA of this city.”

Allison remarked on how there was momentum being made improving the ballfields across the city. “We have a lot of momentum going forward and I’d hate to see something like this derail if we don’t go through with it,” he said. “Maybe there won’t be any but I’m not willing to take that risk.”

“My no vote is not in any way a dig or shot at MLB,” Mackey said. “I appreciate everything MLB has done.”

But Mackey, too, stated how the “timing on this was not great.”

“When talking about this kind of money we need to figure out where this kind of money will come from,” Mackey said. He added how the primary role of council is to make sure the city officials are spending taxpayer money in the best way possible.

“I’m confident we developed a really good relationship with MLB and don’t see any reason why that can’t continue,” he said.

Pulizzi said the old saying, “A lack of planning on their part does not constitute an emergency on mine,” applied in this situation. “I wish MLB had provided us with specifics about what was going to happen earlier and that we had time to make a responsible decision earlier,” he said.

“It is a lot of money,” Pulizzi said, adding, “We have a responsibility to taxpayers to make sure we are looking out for their best interest.

“We are developing a relationship with MLB . .. the event happens, arguably, no where else in the world,” he said, but noted the council was responsible to look out for the residents.

Beiter said the discussion revolves around the part of the lease requiring facility improvements/capital improvements. During the term, MLB will be responsible for maintenance costs of Bowman Field, including capital improvements and temporary improvements, if any.

Beiter said the facility is world class and provides a superior place for Pennsylvania College of Technology, and numerous high school teams involved in a PIAA tournament.

Should MLB choose not to renew the Classic the city would have a facility that could last for the next decade or longer if maintenance crews are able to, Beiter said.

“I’m not comfortable with the ask in this current agreement,” he said, but added, “I think it is short-sighted to negate the fact that this is beneficial to us.”

He noted how the game itself is not a revenue boon for the city, that it is a private event but that is part of what makes it special for the 20 Little League teams and other local Little League teams that received tickets.

He considered it to be a possible once in a lifetime experience to see a MLB game here and asked how many areas have presidents and vice presidents visit?

“I hope MLB is willing to play ball in the future as we look at this contract going forward and find ways we can benefit from it,” Beiter said.

Miele said she was torn on this issue.

She said she understood how the field will continue to have utility for the city moving forward and would be a field that is playable for seven years or longer. “We have a good track record in stretching things out and it could go a decade,” she said.

She also believed there was a bit of financial disparity.

“We would not be putting this much money into the field without MLB being here,” she said.

The city and partners using the ballfield do not require that level of playable surface, she added.

“I am afraid we hinder our negotiating ability on the contract moving forward if we agree to putting this much money into the field at this point,” she said. “Once we have invested so much in a new field, I think we are somewhat more pressured into moving forward with an agreement with MLB whether or not it suits our needs.”

“None of that is to say the Classic, obviously, has been a wonderful thing for the city even if it is not necessarily an economic driver for the city,” she said.

“On the surface of it, the visibility that we get and the really positive experiences that it is generating for ballplayers and small children of all stripes here in the area is pretty cool.”

“I believe livability is being increased in the city as a result of that game,” Miele said.