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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity and School Facility Use Advisory Committee - 03/02/2005 UNAPPROVED MINUTES CITY AND SCHOOL FACILITY USE ADVISORY COMMITTEE WEDNESDAY, MARCH 2, 2005 7:00 P.M. EDEN PRAIRIE HIGH SCHOOL A2002 COMMITTEE MEMBERS PRESENT: Phil Rose (arrived at 7:30 p.m.), Chair; Nancy Holden (arrived at 7:20 p.m.), Ian Mackay, Steve Mosow and Phil Young COMMITTEE MEMBERS ABSENT: Kathy Bykowski COMMITTEE STAFF PRESENT: Jeanne Zetah, Director of Community Education Services; Lyndell Frey, Community Center Manager; Cheryl Bridge, Facilities Coordinator; Jill Johnson, High School Activities Coordinator; and Carol Pelzel, Minutes Secretary I. CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL A. Due to a lack of a quorum, the meeting was not officially called to order until 7:30 p.m. B. INTRODUCTIONS Committee members introduced themselves. Frey asked that Committee members review the Committee membership listing and make any necessary changes. C. APPOINT CHAIR AND VICE CHAIR FOR 2005 Motion: Mosow moved by unanimous acclamation that Rose continues as Chair and Mackay as Vice Chair. II. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Motion: Motion was made by Mackay, seconded by Young, to approve the agenda as presented. The motion carried, 5-0. III. APPROVAL OF MINUTES A. OCTOBER 6, 2004 Motion: Motion was made by Mosow, seconded by Rose, to approve the October 6, 2004, minutes as presented. The motion carried, 3-0-2 with Young and Mackay abstaining because of absence from that meeting. CITY AND SCHOOL FACILITY USE ADVISORY COMMITTEE March 2, 2005 Page 2 IV. ITEMS OF BUSINESS A. REVIEW FACILITY USE CHARGES FOR 2004 1. City Spaces Used by the School District Frey distributed to the Committee a listing of actual fees and charges for 2004 for City Facilities used by the School District. He explained that total fees charged in 2004 for the Community Center Pool for the High School Synchronized Girl's Swim Team should be $9,813 rather than $6,520. He explained that the difference in fees charged in 2003 and in 2004 for Oak Point Pool was a result of the Girl's Swim Teams needing an additional 45 minutes of time per day. Additional swim meets were also held at the Community Center Pool. Frey pointed out that there was also a slight increase in charges for the Community Center Ice Arena for Hockey. For a single game the fee is $675. As of January 1, 2004, there was a fee increase of$5 per hour. Frey stated that it is not uncommon for the City to increase ice fees almost each year by $2.50 or$5 an hour. This increase is for all users and not just for the School District. Frey stated that the City has already set their fees for 2005 and they anticipate the next increase to occur in 2006. Frey explained that ice rental fees increased because of increased physical education use. The fee charged for ice rental for physical education classes is half of what the general rate is per hour. In 2004 they instituted a charge of$885 for Community Center Locker Room usage. This fee is for cleaning and maintenance of the facility. Frey reported that the City collected a total of$96,775 in fees and charges from the School District in 2004 for an increase of$9,600 from the previous year. The increase was primarily related to the rental time at the Community Center for pool and ice charges. In response to a question from Mosow, Frey explained that the City and School District have an agreement for use of facilities at a charge for direct costs. However, this does not apply to the Community Center and the Activity Center because taxpayers were told that user fees would be charged to pay for those facilities. That is why the High School pays the same rental rate as the Hockey Association. This is the same for the City using the Activity Center and Dome. 2. School District Spaces Used by the City Johnson explained that they had the opportunity last spring to work with the City to move adult volleyball into the Activity Center. This is the first time for City leagues. They do pay the regular rate for facility rental. Johnson stated that the fee for the High School CITY AND SCHOOL FACILITY USE ADVISORY COMMITTEE March 2, 2005 Page 3 auditorium did increase because a 30"' anniversary concert was added in February. She explained that the Community Theater is charged the lowest rate for the auditorium and pays approximately $25 an hour for rehearsal time. Johnson said they now require a student tech and supervisor to be in attendance when someone is using the auditorium and the user is required to pay the regular rate for the supervisor and student tech. Johnson reported that the School does not charge the City the going rate for the use of the Prairie Dome for their fly fishing activity. This activity occurs during their non-prime time for space and is held in the winter. There is an $80 charge per participant rather than a regular rate. Flag football also uses the facility during non-prime time and that rate is also reduced. They basically charge half of the field rental for using the full field. Bridge explained that the City uses High School classrooms for training coaches and is charged the same rates as the Baseball and Softball Association. The Central Middle School gym is used for most of the City's adult league programs. The City does pay half of the staffing charges because the School does have people there. Bridge further explained that building supervisor's salaries have increased, therefore, the School District will be making an adjustment to the charges next year. Frey said the City is very appreciative that they can use the School District's facilities. Without those facilities, they would not be able to provide the programs that they do. Bridge stated that Summer Theater uses the Central Middle School Multi-Purpose Room in April for rehearsals for their summer performance at Starring Lake. They run rehearsals until school is out. At the end of May, they do use the facility as a rain backup. The charges were increased because the group is usually there when the City is also using the facility so they are not charged for the building supervisor. The City felt that the cost for attendants should be shared. Frey explained that for Oak Point pool the School charges the City the same that the City charges the school for the Community Center pool. The fee increase for Oak Point pool was directly a result of increased use by the Aqua Jets and Fox Jets. Bridge pointed out that charges for Oak Point Intermediate School gym increased slightly because of staffing. The youth/adult open gym was discontinued. They did not get the number of participants necessary to continue the program. The total fees charged the City for the use of School District facilities increased from $69,506 to $76,552 for an increase of$7,046. This was due in part to the use of Oak Point Pool for Swim Teams. CITY AND SCHOOL FACILITY USE ADVISORY COMMITTEE March 2, 2005 Page 4 B. PROPOSED CHANGES IN FACILITY USE CHARGES FOR FUTURE Zetah explained that because of cuts to the School District's budget, they anticipate facility rates being increased for next year. Johnson stated that the main change will be charges for the Activity Center. The fee for the basketball court is $2 per court per hour and they are anticipating that it will increase $8 per hour per court. Once this increase is approved, the basketball and volleyball associations will be notified so that they can plan accordingly. Mackay asked if this would increase the City's cost by 25 percent for basketball. Frey responded that the City does not use the Activity Center but that they use Central Middle School. Bridge pointed out that the School's charges for staffing will also increase to get them in line with what they are actually paying the staff. This increase would affect Associations that use facilities on a Saturday or Sunday. Bridge further explained that they are not proposing to increase rental rates for use of the Activity Center for Group I users but they do propose increasing rental rates for Groups II and III. They have not raised rental rates for this facility for several years. Mackay asked how these increases would affect City budgets. Frey responded that it would be minimal. Holden asked how the proposed increases would affect the Basketball Association. Johnson said it would result in about a 25 percent increase. They are currently paying $8,715. Zetah said the School is also looking at increasing the staff rate from$13.50 per hour to $14.50 per hour for next year. Building supervisor rates have increased as well as benefits. Frey said the City also anticipates increasing staff rates. Frey said that from an adult athletic standpoint, they can pass the increases on to the participants. Frey said they will look at the pool numbers for 2006 in June. Johnson explained that they do not anticipate changing fees for use of the Prairie Dome. In response to a question from Mackay, Johnson explained that during prime time, the dome is used 95 percent of the time. They do have openings in November and December and they are looking at better ways to schedule the different groups. Mackay asked if there was some way that the City and School District could relay this information to the various Associations. Johnson said she meets annually with the Associations in June and that she is in contact with the facility schedulers for the main user groups on a regular basis. She indicated that when the rates change she will make sure that the changes are relayed to the various Associations as soon as the changes are confirmed. Frey explained that the City meets with the spring and summer users in February and with the fall users in August. There is no fee for general use of outdoor facilities. A fee was implemented for tournaments, camps and clinics for use of the fields and this fee has CITY AND SCHOOL FACILITY USE ADVISORY COMMITTEE March 2, 2005 Page 5 remained the same. Mackay suggested that this information be shared with the Sports Facilities Committee. Frey explained that for City use of facilities, they made it very clear to the Associations that they do not allow subleasing. This is not a change in the policy but some groups have been subleasing the fields. The City started last summer to not allow groups to sublease the facilities even for an Association game. Frey further explained that through the City's Sports Facilities Committee, the various organizations have had the opportunity to hear what other groups are doing for tournaments and camps and this has been an on-going education on how City facilities are used. Johnson said she has continual conversations with the various groups to be sure that what they are doing is in line with what is required by the policy. She said that she makes sure that they are educated as to what they are doing and the various organizations have been very receptive. Mosow asked if the various users have to sign a contract with provisions. Johnson said they do require a signed contract. Bridge explained that they do not deal directly with individual coaches. They make them go through their contact person for their sport. C. UPDATE ON THE SPORTS FACILITY COMMITTEE FIELD USAGE FOR SUMMER—ANY CHANGES OR UPDATES? Frey distributed a copy of the Sports Facilities Committee agenda to the Committee. He explained that they have a great representation of the various organizations except for the Hockey Association. This has been a very educational process for all parties involved. Frey said they have approved a Charter Statement and the revised policy will be sent to the Parks Commission once they have completed its review. The policy will eventually be forwarded to the City Council for final approval. This Committee is working towards making the use of City facilities more hands-on by the groups that use them. Rose asked if they have had an opportunity to educate the users on some of the issues this Committee has talked about including field usage and wear. Frey said they have not gotten that far yet. Once they have completed the review of the policy they will discuss other issues. Mackay said he serves on that Committee and he feels it is a terrific group. All of the stakeholders are at the table and they are learning to speak not only about themselves but they also listen to what else is going on. They are all users and they are all working to make a policy that is uniform and fair. Mackay said he feels this will be a great benefit for the City once they get through the initial few meetings. Zetah asked if they have covered or reminded the Committee of the field usage procedures and scheduling. It should be made clear to them that they no longer schedule with just the City but they also need to schedule with the School. Frey said this is something that will be covered once they have completed the policies. Zetah said that in the past they have had problems with groups thinking that the fields are there for their use at any time. CITY AND SCHOOL FACILITY USE ADVISORY COMMITTEE March 2, 2005 Page 6 Zetah asked if there will be any fields that will be taken out of use for the summer months to allow them to rest. Johnson said they will be limiting the use of fields for outside user groups. Frey said the City does not allow outside groups to use their fields. Mosow asked if there is a normal rotation schedule to take fields out of service to make sure they regenerate. Johnson said there is. Certain fields at the High School facilities are utilized more for games and others are used for practices. They are working on Fields A and C because those two are main focused fields and because of their condition and the amount of use they get. They are still trying to protect those fields and to limit the amount of usage on them. Frey explained that the City does not rotate fields. They did have to close some fields down several years ago. If they rotated their use, they would have to turn users away. Frey said they do ask Associations to start and schedule games after May 1. Maintenance of fields does begin May 1. Holden asked what they do about coaches that schedule additional practices in addition to the schedule they are given. Frey said they were not aware of any. All of the fields are scheduled to their max. Once the coaches give them their space requirements, any additional space is made available for public use. D. UPDATE ON BROCHURE ABOUT ARTS ACTIVITIES IN THE COMMUNITY Mosow said it is the Arts Commissions intention to publish a brochure that would show arts opportunities in the City. They planned to produce this brochure some time in March. They have layouts and they have collected information. They are in the process of obtaining bids for its publication. They anticipate having to sell some advertising. They do have $8,000 in the budget but would like to use that money elsewhere. Holden asked if this would be a yearly brochure. Mosow said they had hoped to do something quarterly. They will have one this year and depending on financial aspects they may decide to produce something more frequently. They may also consider something more generic with inserts to keep it current. Zetah suggested they consider adding School activities that will be taking place during the school year. They would not necessarily have to include the dates. Mosow said they are still working on how the brochure would be updated and this may include insets on a quarterly basis. Right now they are working on getting it produced at an affordable price. Holden indicated that artists do display their work at the Eden Prairie City Center. Unfortunately, not many people are able to see this display or are even aware that it exists. She asked if there are any plans to have artwork displayed at other locations or to let people know that there is a display at the City Center. Mosow said this is an item of discussion and one of the things in the brochure that will be highlighted. Frey said the new library would also be a good location for displaying art. Zetah explained that some times there have been receptions to honor particular artist. Mosow said they have discussed holding an Eden Prairie Arts Festival in the new Purgatory Creek Park. They have also discussed converting the old theater in Eden Prairie Shopping Center into a community theater. CITY AND SCHOOL FACILITY USE ADVISORY COMMITTEE March 2, 2005 Page 7 Holden asked if they ever do cooperating events with surrounding communities. Mosow said not that he was aware of. He said they have talked about only concentrating on what is available in Eden Prairie or should they go out to surrounding communities. They have decided to start locally and then to eventually build out. V. DISCUSSION ON ITEMS FOR NEXT MEETING A. NEXT MEETING DATE 1. October, 2005 The Board agreed that the next meeting of the City and School Facility Use Advisory Committee would be held on October 5 2005, at the City Center beginning at 7:15 p.m. 2. Discussion Items for the Next Meeting The Board agreed to discuss the following items: • Review field usage after the summer; • Present an update on the Sports Facilities Committee; • Future referendums update; and • Arts brochure. VI. OTHER VII. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 8:30 p.m.