DIXON, CA (MPG) - It is rare that there is tension at the monthly City of Dixon Parks and Recreation Meetings but there was plenty of it at the last one over youth basketball.

At the beginning of the meeting, new Recreation Manager Austin George introduced Aaron Locks, CEO, and Ben Freeland, Area Captain, both from the National Academy of Athletics from San Jose. They gave a presentation on the youth basketball camps during Thanksgiving and during Christmas breaks as well as recreation basketball from January 14 through March 4 for 4th through 8th graders.

"Our number one goal is safety and number two is to have fun and learn to play the game," said Locks who began doing camps in 2012 in Sonoma and has expanded his company to now include recreational youth sports camps and physical education programs for kids throughout California and regions of Nevada, Texas, Atlanta and Massachusetts.

Commissioner Aimee Villalpando inquired about fees and Locks said that they "do everything in partnership with a 75/25 split with the city." The cost of their eight-week program is $155 per child.

When the public was allowed to talk, Brian Jensen, President of the Board for the brand-new non-profit, Dixon Youth Basketball, then expressed shock and disappointment. Jensen and parents went to George early in the spring asking if they could take over the name Dixon Youth Basketball to start a new basketball league which George agreed to. The name was formerly used by the City of Dixon Recreation Department, but board members were told there were no plans to operate any basketball clinics or camps in the near future and that was backed in a meeting with Kotow.

The group went to work forming their own non-profit, soliciting parents and youth to be involved, train coaches and raise money for using a Dixon school gymnasium. Jensen went to more meetings including a school board meeting and was continually given the green light. The DYB program is 10 weeks for $150.

"We first reached out in April and got their okay. I was optimistic for a collaboration, but I was told the city would not collaborate with me. The word was a business partnership but [instead,] the city partnered with people outside of Dixon," he said.

"I'm thoroughly disappointed that the city is going to offer a program almost identical as ours," he said. "We currently have 173 kids signed up. We are going to have the majority of kids in Dixon playing basketball in DYB. We have gym costs of 40K figured into our pricing. We pay our own insurance. We vet all our people and do background checks and everything else. We can offer a program cheaper than what the city made a deal with [the other league] and we can still pay all that money out because we're not trying to make a profit off the kids. We're trying to offer them a program with the lowest cost possible."

However, Jensen refused to disparage the other company.

"I won't say anything bad about that company - they are a great company, but I will say that our organization in Dixon didn't have a chance,” Jensen said. “We repeatedly didn't get replies to emails. They questioned whether or not we were a true non-profit and I replied to that email with proof but then got no reply.”

The group could only sit in limbo for weeks waiting to hear if they were able to get a gym and didn't learn they were not going to be "partnering" with the city until a week ago.

"We are going to go forward but I ask two things: Why aren't we keeping Dixon money in Dixon? And, if the Dixon program doesn't get enough kids to fill up two gyms at JKMS, then will we be allowed to use some open gym space?” Jensen asked.

Resident Valerie Miner then stepped to the podium.

"Obviously there is some major gray area that is very disturbing. But this is our community. This is our kids... This man was trying to navigate through your system...someone is lying here,” Miner proclaimed.

Villalpando said the item was only informational and the meeting moved to the next item.

"I have to say that their experience mirrors mine," Caitlin O'Halloran from the Solano Tennis Association said next when speaking under non-agenda items.

She approached the commission back in June with a formal PowerPoint presentation with hopes to build a tennis league in Dixon.

"I began in June asking how to get a program together and at the end of this week, it will be October, and I'm no closer despite three commission meetings, two meetings with staff, three emails and a comprehensive list,” O'Halloran explained. “I'm no closer to where I wanted to be. That concerns me as a community member."

At the end of the meeting, Commissioner Rudy Balatzar asked if the demand for youth basketball is there, why aren't we using other facilities? Kotow explained that the city does not own the gyms, the school does. The only reason the John Knight Middle School gym is on the table is because of the joint use agreement with the school district and the city in exchange for the city pool use for high school sports.

Commissioner KC Baltz asked about cost recovery and George answered that the new company was "right at break even."

Kotow reported that the city is open to partnerships. Jensen was called back to the podium and asked questions.

"Never when we started this was it ever going to be about competing programs," he said.

Kotow wants to find a solution.

"There was miscommunication on many levels," said Kotow. "With our expertise, we can fix what's broken.”