After hours of contentious debate, the city council decided to postpone a vote to modify the number of city residents required on a sport team to get a city field.

Under city rules, at least half the youth players on city fields must be Alpharetta residents.  But Ambush soccer, which fields players from under nine to 19, is having trouble with its older teams. 

"As kids get older, fewer play," explained soccer dad Michael Jacobs of the high-level Ambush program. He and other soccer parents are pleading with the city for some flexibility to keep teenage teams together.

Because teenage teams have long rosters, they need a larger absolute number of residents than young teams. 
Non city-residents pay an extra $210 per year to offset costs associated with park bond repayments that residents pay through their property taxes. 

But Recreation Commission Chair Jim Cregge is skeptical of the footballers: "If we can't get five people who want to do a program, why are we running that program? … Are we trying to compete with private club teams?"

The question will reappear on the City Council agenda, but a date has not yet been set.