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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity and School Facility Use Advisory Committee - 02/21/2001 APPROVED MINUTES CITY AND SCHOOL FACILITY USE ADVISORY COMMITTEE WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2001 7:00 P.M., CITY CENTER PRAIRIE ROOMS A & B COMMITTEE MEMBERS PRESENT: David Steppat, Chair; Don Jacobson, Vice Chair,Jane Wolfgram COMMITTEE MEMBERS ABSENT: Nancy Tyra-Lukens, Phil Rose COMMITTEE STAFF PRESENT: Jeanne Zetah, Director of Community Education Services; Lyndell Frey, Community Center Manager; Cheryl Bridge, Facilities Coordinator; Charlie Gross, High School Activities Coordinator. Peggy Rasmussen, City Recording Secretary I. ROLL CALL Chair Steppat called the meeting to order at 7:05 p.m. II. APPROVAL OF AGENDA MOTION: Steppat moved, seconded by Jacobson, to approve the agenda as published. Motion carried 3-0. III. APPROVAL OF MINUTES —August 16, 2000 MOTION: Wolfgram moved, seconded by Steppat, to approve the minutes of the meeting of the City and School Facility Use Advisory Committee held on August 16, 2000, as published. Motion approved 2-0-1, with Jacobson abstaining due to his absence from the meeting. IV. ITEMS OF BUSINESS A. Update on Changes to the City's Facility Reiulations/Charges 1. Community Center Policy Revision Frey said the Community Center meeting rooms are used primarily in the evenings for classes and by volunteer associations. However, as of October 2000, Weight Watchers have been renting a room twice a week from 9:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. They are renting at a corporate rate, which brings $11,000-$12,000 a year into the community. Last year the City Council approved a policy to allow the Community Center to book rooms in advance on a regular basis. There were only 15 room-scheduling conflicts in the whole year, and 10 of these were relocated within the facility. CITY AND SCHOOL FACILITY USE ADVISORY COMMITTEE February 21, 2001 Page 2 Not only are Weight Watchers paying the corporate rate, but it is hoped their promotion of a healthy life style may prompt their members to use the Community Center's exercise facilities. Frey said they now have a new computer software program for booking the meeting rooms. Athletic associations, which had been using the meeting rooms for free, are now allowed just one free meeting per month and after that they are billed $5 per hour for the use of a room. There are 12 athletic associations, some of which spend up to $300 per year to rent rooms at the Community Center. 2. Outdoor Center Policy Revision Bob Lanzi, who is the person responsible for booking the Outdoor Center, informed Frey that the only change in policy is when the School District requests use of the Outdoor Center after regular school hours. If the request seems more social (like retirement or holiday parties), and not considered an official school use, then the School District would be charged the same as any Eden Prairie resident, which is a minimum of $20, and $5 per hour. Otherwise, the School District will pay the same fee they were charged in the past for school functions. It is up to Bob Lanzi to decide if it is a school function or not. B. Update Changes to the School District's Facility Regulations/Charges Zetah said changes were instituted that were discussed at the August 16 meeting. There is one change regarding youth service organizations such as Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts. The policy was to charge rent of $3 per hour for use of the cafeteria. Based upon feedback the School District received, they met with those groups' leaders and ended up modifying the policy so the Scouts would only be charged if there are over 25 people coming in, but not for smaller groups. However, Scout groups not paying rent will be charged a $5 permit fee and a "no show" fee if they don't show up. Steppat asked who makes the decision on what types of groups can use the school facilities. Bridge replied those questions come to her and if it's not clear she discusses it with Zetah. She looks at the group's mission and how open the membership is. Gross said he coordinates community use of the Activity Center, Performing Arts Center, and the Prairie Dome. He said there have not been any new policies or changes to the policies. Before next year there should be some changes to the rates to help categorize users better. There are three rates now, which might not be enough. He is currently looking at how many users there are and the number of bookings. There are about 10,000 bookings per year, including both high school teams and outside bookings. They have trouble meeting the demand. During the first quarter of the year the Dome is 95 percent booked, and the CITY AND SCHOOL FACILITY USE ADVISORY COMMITTEE February 21, 2001 Page 3 Activity Center 85 percent booked during week nights. It is difficult to get outside bookings for the Performing Arts Center because it is used by the school for much of the time. Steppat asked how Gross prioritizes the bookings. Gross replied he and staff follow the guidelines and categorizes. Some priority situations may have been compromised, but by and large they have done a good job. Wolfgram said considering the volume of people using the school's facilities, the wear and tear on them must be huge. As a taxpayer she is concerned about that. She asked if more money would need to be put into the high school facilities in the future because of this extra use, which is not for the purpose intended. Gross replied the ones putting the wear and tear on the school's facilities are almost all from Eden Prairie and most of them are paying a fee, so the taxpayers should be pleased that the school's facilities are being used. Wolfgram said she thought it was being used more than had been expected, however, and wondered if the amount groups are paying compensates for the use. Steppat asked if Gross anticipated fees being adjusted to pay for maintenance. Gross replied fees would have to go up to accommodate increases in salaries,heating costs, etc. Zetah said the bulk of the use is by the students during the school day and the rooms are cleaned on a regular schedule, whether or not other groups use the school. Gross said the cleaning costs are more than if it was just high school use, however. Zetah replied that, in terms of the philosophy of the school, rooms are being used by the whole community. Gross said he would like to be able to open up the school to more groups. Priorities have been given to youth associations and the priorities seem to be working. Steppat said the school is an incredible resource and is being used by many groups. Gross said multiple functions are going on at the same time — in the Activity Center, Dome, and the Performing Arts Center. C. Review Actual Fees and Charges for 2000 1. City Facilities Used by the School District With regard to warming houses for the ice rinks, Zetah said in past years the school paid rent to use them and school staff had keys. Frey said there have been times, when keys to City facilities were given out to various groups, that the facilities were not locked up again, so keys are no longer available. 2. School District Facilities Used by the City of Eden Prairie Steppat said he noticed that over the last three years the fees went up every year for the City facilities used by the School District, whereas the fees went down every year for the School District facilities used by the City. Frey replied the City was charged $90,000 for use of the Oak Point School pool. As a result, the City had to cut back hours in order to reduce the CITY AND SCHOOL FACILITY USE ADVISORY COMMITTEE February 21, 2001 Page 4 charge to $45,000. Seven life guards are needed at Oak Point whenever there is open swimming, because of the two pools and the slide, compared to the Community Center, which needs just two or three guards. When that is considered, the City and School District charges are about the same. Part of the issue with the School District's fees being lower is the number of hours for lessons or open-swim time that used to be at the Community Center that are now at Oak Point. By not renting the Community Center pool to the Fox Jets, for example, the City loses money. There is a current Joint Powers Agreement between the City and the School District. Wolfgram said she likes to use outdoor water parks, and wishes the City had one. Zetah said it will be interesting to see what the Community Survey shows about what others think about that. Frey said there have been inquiries regarding an outdoor swimming pool. The annual revenue from the Community Center and Oak Point pools combined is $150,000 to $180,000, but prior to the Oak Point pool being available, the Community Center pool generated an annual revenue of $120,000 to $130,000. D. Review Priority Use Classifications 1. City Facilities Zetah said charges to the City for use of Eden Prairie High School activity facilities were patterned after what the City had been charging the school. The Outdoor Center charges are now being broken down to "Is it an official school use or not"? Frey said it used to be just the cost of opening and closing the Center, but now if it is after school hours, and is not an official school use, then the school would be charged. If the school used meeting rooms A, B or C for an official school use, and there are no user groups wanting them during that time, there would be no charge. If the school wanted tables and chairs set up, the school would be charged $5 per hour for setting them up. Priority use stayed the same. 2. School District Facilities The prioritized use list was reviewed. There really are no changes in priority use. Gross said fees have not changed since May 2000. Frey said he noted there is a more specific breakdown of youth groups. Steppat said he noticed that most of these charges are about the same, whether the groups are Eden Prairie residents or not. He asked if there has CITY AND SCHOOL FACILITY USE ADVISORY COMMITTEE February 21, 2001 Page 5 been any thought to charging non-residents more to help pay for maintenance. Gross referenced the prioritized use lists. He noted there is a big difference between the City's and the High School's prioritized list. It's necessary to understand the difference between groups 1, 2 and 3. Steppat asked if having a fee scale has ever been thought about. Frey said the ice arena fees are determined by the market. The Eden Prairie Community Center is among the top three in charges for ice time. If the City tries to charge $200 per hour it would not get that because the hockey associations would go to Chanhassen, Chaska, or elsewhere. There is a competitive market, so the market determines the fees. Frey said meeting rooms are available for 30- to 40 people. He believed 90- 95 percent of users are in groups 1 and 2. Very few would want to use the small group setting. Gross said if you look at the Dome rental rates, there is not a lot of variance. The school charges $280 for Eden Prairie groups. The Dome rates are identical to other markets. Wolfgram said she assumed the Dome is used by groups 1 and 2, and they have priority. Bridge replied that during the school year groups 1 and 2 are using it most of the time. Jacobson asked if the criteria to be in group priority 3A is met by all of those listed. Gross said they don't do a roster check and he hasn't seen a financial statement, but the records are on file. Frey said the City has all of that on file; certification of the coaches has to be filed on a yearly basis. Zetah suggested coordinating the submission of this information to the school when it is submitted to the City. V. DISCUSSION ON ITEMS FOR NEXT MEETING Steppat said the next meeting would be held on Wednesday, August 15, 2001. He would like to hear what is happening at the Prairie Dome, since it is fairly new. Gross said he could give the committee a breakdown of the users. Zetah said she would like to hear what came out of the City's Community Survey and if there are plans to modify any facilities based on that. VI. OTHER Jacobson said this would be his last meeting as a member of this committee. His six years on the Parks and Recreation Advisory Commission is up. He thanked everybody. CITY AND SCHOOL FACILITY USE ADVISORY COMMITTEE February 21, 2001 Page 6 Steppat asked if people could still sit on this committee if they are not on any City commissions. Zetah said she would find out if the City wants a current Parks and Recreation Advisory Commission member to serve on this committee. Jacobson could stay on otherwise. Jacobson said he would be willing to continue as a member of the committee. VII. ADJOURNMENT MOTION: Jacobson moved, seconded by Wolfgram, to adjourn the meeting. Motion carried 3-0. Chair Steppat adjourned the meeting at 8:07 p.m.