CC_Minutes_2015_0615 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home

Regular City Council Meeting Monday,June 15,2015 Page 8 Commissioner Doneen noted that this had received considerable discussion by the Commission, and advised that City staff attempted to question each use or event specifically to make a judgment call as applicable. Commissioner Doneen noted that the Commission continued to monitor fees to determine if this is the right sys- tem and how it was working, and admitted some revisions may be required going forward with more experience. In light of civic and community engagement, Councilmember McGehee suggest- ed considering specific areas, not necessarily the entire city, and those activities that should be free if open and available for the public. Commissioner Becker-Finn noted that part of the issue may involve the infor- mation shared when booking an event or activity and how to define where the line is, suggesting this may need to be further clarified on the website. Commissioner Becker-Finn asked the City Council's consideration that this is new territory, with most of the buildings only having been available for booking since April, and feedback will continue to inform the process and necessary revisions. Based on the feedback she'd received to-date, Commissioner Becker-Finn stated most were finding the City's rental fees reasonable, given their comparison with other pri- vate facilities not offering as many amenities. Councilmember McGehee requested additional information from the Commission on the formula or differential between resident and non-resident fees; with Com- missioner Becker-Finn responding that it varied depending on the building itself and its capacity as well as the day of the week for the booking. Specific to the golf course, Councilmember McGehee expressed her frustration in deferring maintenance (e.g. roof repairs/replacement), similar to that of fire sta- tions and old park buildings, and the apparent common theme across the City to defer maintenance long enough that a new building was required. While it may not be specific only to Park & Recreation facilities, Councilmember McGehee opined that the City had been remiss in addressing ongoing mainte- nance issues, thus the implementation of the asset management software program. Councilmember McGehee spoke in support of the golf course as a nice amenity for the community, and her lack of support in selling the property, at least without further study. Councilmember McGehee spoke in further support for continuing to have the golf course operate as an Enterprise Fund, opining that the Oval and skating center should do so as well, to provide a separate picture of their finances, making the bookkeeping aspect cleaner. Councilmember McGehee opined that this would be another area of interest for her in defining the fee differential to ad- dress actual costs and provide a more sustainable financial footing and recom- mendations from the Commission on how best to get there. Councilmember McGehee opined that the twenty-year Parks & Recreation capital improvement program (CIP) was out of line with other departments (e.g. twenty baseball fields