HomeMy WebLinkAbout09-14-2010 PRC 03b July Minutes
City of Hastings
Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes – Special Meeting
Parks & Recreation Conference Room
July 20, 2010 – 6:00 pm
1) Roll Call at 6 pm: Commissioners Garrett, Schommer, Miller, Flaten, Vandehoef and Rohloff, Parks & Recreation
Director Bernstein, Maintenance Supervisor Likes, Councilmember Slavik
Absent: Commissioner Smith
2011 Budget Discussion:
2) Staff was notified that the City is potentially in a $1.5 million budget reduction for 2011.
Department heads were asked to review budgets and brainstorm ideas to reduce expenses and increase revenues.
Bernstein came up with many possible ideas which were contained in the memo to the PRC for the July 13th meeting.
The City is facing this shortfall due to the loss of local government aid and the devaluation of home values. None of
these ideas have gone to the Finance Committee yet.
Outside Skating Rinks: School District does reimburse for ½ of expenses through Joint Powers. Recommendation to
only open Wallin, Lions, and Pioneer warming houses – the most popular ones. The other rinks would be maintained
but no warming shelters open/staffed. This would reduce the staffed shelters from six to three for a savings of
approximately $8,000-$9,000. Discussion about staffing warming houses with volunteers was thought not to be viable
or sustainable. The idea of closing all rinks for this season is not supported by Council at this time. A question was
raised regarding opening the shelters when the weather is bad or the temperature is very low. Staff feels it is important
to open the warming houses for safety concerns regarding children who may walk down to skate during bad weather.
This is a similar procedure to what other communities do in this instance.
MOTION
:
Commissioner Miller motioned to recommend only opening Wallin, Lions, and Pioneer warming houses
for the 2010-11 season. Seconded by Commissioner Rohloff. Passed unanimously.
General Fund Reductions: Director Bernstein mentioned that staff is reviewing budget accounts and is shifting money
from one account to another in order to keep the budgeted amount the same but still be able to provide as many
services as possible.
Pool Hours: Staff is recommending closing the pool one hour earlier for the 2011 season. This would reduce the pool
season by 90 hours and would save approximately $13,000 in lifeguard and front desk personnel costs and about
$1,300 in concession personnel costs. The pool currently has very low attendance during the 7:00-8:00 PM timeframe.
Staff would like to possibly offer a special day of the week for season pass holders to enter the pool an hour early in
order to encourage the purchase of season passes. While our season pass sales have evened out, the punch card sales
have been increasing. Swim lessons are very popular and staff is planning to add more classes next year to keep up
with the demand. Commissioner Schommer asked about the possibility of having “adults only” evenings at the pool,
similar to teen night. Staff has attempted to hold adult theme nights but received very little response. Commissioners
asked about the possibility of contracting out the running of the pool. Director Bernstein stated that there are
numerous examples of communities who have contracted out facilities only to take them back in-house because it
didn’t work out well. One example is the concession stand at the pool – at one time, it was contracted to an outside
vendor but the City didn’t see any revenue and the vendor had no investment in the facility. In the case of the HFAC,
the City would still be responsible for the facility since it is City owned.
MOTION
:
Commissioner Miller motioned to recommend reducing the pool hours by one hour in the evening.
Seconded by Commissioner Vandehoef. Passed unanimously.
Civic Arena Season: Another possible option is to close the Arena for 3 months during the summer to reduce the
amount of staff time/expense. The Parks & Recreation Department has developed a plan to restructure the department
when the current Arena manager decides to retire. At that time, the department would have one person assigned to
manage both the Arena and the Aquatic Center. The last two years, the Arena has sold ice hours in July and has made
enough money to cover the bills. Commissioner Rohloff mentioned that since Council just approved a resolution
authorizing the HHB to further explore building a training facility on the Arena property, it would seem inappropriate
to not allow the purchase of ice hours in the summer. Bernstein mentioned that staff needs to focus on selling the
Arena more, especially during off-peak times. As soon as the reorganization plan can be implemented, this will save
money for the City. Councilmember Slavik asked the PRC to come up with a recommendation on this option for the
Finance committee. After more discussion regarding the need to support the HHB training facility and the
reorganization plan, the PRC felt that closing the Arena for 3 months could be a detriment in the long run as
customers might choose to go to other year-round arena facilities.
MOTION
:
Commissioner Schommer motioned to recommend not reducing the Arena season to 9 months at this
time. Seconded by Commissioner Vandehoef. Passed unanimously.
Joint Powers: Staff would like to recommend eliminating the City’s financial obligations to the Joint Powers
Agreement with the School District. This would mean eliminating the payment of all Adult League Fees and the 50%
funding commitment for Joint Powers sponsored Community Ed programs. This would save the City approximately
$64,000.
MOTION
:
Commissioner Miller motioned to recommend eliminating the City’s financial contributions to the Joint
Powers Agreement for Adult League Fees and Joint Powers sponsored Community Ed programs. Seconded by
Commissioner Rohloff. Passed unanimously.
Youth First: The funding for the Youth First program has dried up. An option is to discontinue the Youth First
Coordinator position and transition the program duties over to other department staff. This would save the City
approximately $22,000.
MOTION
:
Commissioner Rohloff motioned to recommend discontinuing the Youth First Coordinator position.
Seconded by Commissioner Miller. Passed unanimously.
City Reforestation Program: The City’s reforestation program is already fairly minimal, with about $6,500 budgeted
for tree removal/replacement. Staff is concerned about what we will do if a boulevard tree needs to be removed or
Emerald Ash Borer hits the City. Staff feels there is still a need for funding of the City reforestation program. The
PRC agreed with staff’s recommendation.
Youth Participation Fees: Other communities have started charging a fee for each participant in youth athletic groups.
This revenue would help to offset the cost of seasonal personnel needed to maintain the fields. If youth participation
fees are incorporated into the City’s plan, the development of such fees would be brought to the PRC for input.
Charge for Disc Golf Course: South St. Paul and Inver Grove Heights have started charging for use of their disc golf
courses. In South St. Paul, this is handled by having a contracted attendant who receives a portion of the admission
fees and is allowed to sell other disc golf paraphernalia at the course. Hastings could use any revenue generated to
assist in improvements to the disc golf course and CP Adams Park.
Additional Tournaments at Veterans Park: There are eight tournaments scheduled at Veterans Park for 2010. These
tournaments not only bring in revenue for the City, but also for the local businesses. Staff is working on increasing the
number of tournaments held at Veterans Park for 2011 to twelve.
Increase Fees All Services: Staff is looking at increasing fees across the board – for park/party wagon rentals, HFAC
fees, Arena fees, athletic fees, etc. Caution needs to be exercised in raising fees in that there is a saturation point
where people will just stop using the facilities. Director Bernstein’s approach has been to try and keep our fees in the
middle of surrounding communities. Staff is also looking at implementing new fees for certain services. For instance,
coin-operated lights at the tennis courts or parking meters down by the river.
Increase Advertising Revenue at all Facilities: Staff would like to create advertising packages including all of our
facilities that would be controlled by the City. Currently, some advertising revenue in our facilities goes to other
organizations. Staff would like to capture that revenue for the City.
Capital Improvement Plan:
3) Director Bernstein informed the PRC that staff is currently working on a Capital
Improvement Plan for 2011-2017. Some of the items on the list at this point are:
- New 580 Mower: The current 580 mower is old and is breaking down frequently. This not only disrupts our
mowing schedule in the parks and takes an operator out of commission to make the repairs. Repairs to the current
580 mower have cost approximately $8,000 so far for 2010.
- Cari Park Playground: The play equipment has never been replaced since it was destroyed by a fire. Staff would like
to use Park Dedication funds for this replacement. A neighborhood meeting would be held to determine the desires
of the residents before purchasing any equipment.
- Westwood Park Playground: This equipment is 20 years old and needs to be replaced. A neighborhood meeting
would also be held here in order to determine the neighborhood’s needs.
- Satellite Controlled Lighting at Veterans Park: If the lights could be on satellite control, there wouldn’t be a need
for fall staff at Veterans Park. Staff is not comfortable allowing park users to operate the lights as the lights get
misused, fuses get blown, etc. and staff has to be called out on overtime to get them working.
- Trail Maintenance and Tennis Court Repairs: Staff is requesting $30,000 for annual trail maintenance and $6,500
for annual tennis court repairs.
The CIP will be distributed to the PRC once it is complete.
th
August PRC Meeting:
4) The August 10 meeting will be cancelled due to the primary elections. If agenda items come
up that need to be discussed, staff will notify the PRC and attempt to schedule an alternate meeting for August.
Adjourned at 7:52 p.m.
Minutes submitted by Kristin Behrens