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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - PRAB - 06-18-2009MEETING MINUTES CITY OF MILTON PARKS AND RECREATION ADVISORY BOARD Thursday, June 18, 2009,11:3o a.m. CALL TO ORDER Meeting was called to order by Mark Reed at x1:40 a.m. ROLL CALL Roll call was taken by Linda Blow. MEMBERS PRESENT Mark Shaw Mark Reed Curtis Mills Tom Mulroy Sandra Sheley Lauren Jackson OTHERS PRESENT Alan Clock - AYSA Board Member & Milton citizen Scott Stachowski, HYA Certification Officer Chris Lagerbloom, City Manager Stacey Inglis, Finance Director Matt Marietta, Assistant to City Manager Linda Blow, Projects Coordinator Quorum announced by Mark Reed. APPROVAL OF PAST MINUTES Motion to approve minutes of May 21, 2oog by Mark Reed, seconded by Sandra Sheley. The vote was unanimous and the motion carried. PUBLIC COMMENT Alan Clock - Milton resident and AYSA [Alpharetta Youth Softball Association] Board Member distributed a document entitled "Emerging Issue of Milton Residents Being Cbarged Usury Fees for Participation in Alpharetta Recreation Programs". He made the following points: • Alpharetta charges a 75% non-resident fee on every program ■ bo% of AYSA are non -Alpharetta residents - approx. 400 Milton families ■ Non resident fees went from $32.95 to $105.00 • Roswell charges a 5o% non-resident fee and so does Hopewell • Wants to have quid pro quo fee - Hopewell should raise non resident fee to 75% ■ Maybe have conversation with other city council members or their Parks & Rec directors for reciprocal agreements NEW AND UNFINISHED BUSINESS ■ Ex of Milton ➢ Stacey Inglis stated that she did not bri Committee wanted to know but she was h ➢ Curtis Mills distributed an outline of Fins and Sandy Sheley. ➢ Curtis stated that he wanted to have p+ members of the Advisory Board, ➢ Chris Lagerbloom stated that Milton has it is his responsibility along with the Cit budget and present to Council. ➢ Chris suggested that Curtis, Sandy, Matt future to discuss the P&R budget and the ➢ The meeting was held and everyone additional space. Chris Lagerbloom is t Board of Education regarding space shy and hope that there will be something to Parks & Recreation Mission Statement ➢ Mark Reed made some minor changes Jackson questioned whether the specific the statement. After some discussic maximizing the use of the facilities... M board members for final approval. ■ OT) A 0 Tnf- rarafinn sari 14l - QLQI.Gy 111x,"7 d -outs as she wasn't sure what the ,wer any questions. ittee Responsibilities created by him the Finance Committee who are not City Manager form of government and Director, Stacey Inglis, to create the . and Brad meet sometime in the near 'ole in the process. I Shaw and Tom Mulrov iat the bottom line is that we need nth Patrick Burke of the Fulton County will be meeting with him again soon 'the P&R Committee. ailed to all board members. Lauren to "fields and lights" should be part of 'ent wording was agreed upon, e.g. nake changes and send back out to all ➢ Mark Reed is now a member of CPAC anart anything the Board needs to hear at the P&R meetings. CPAC is working on -ie City into character areas. There will be a public presentation on July 18th. i ➢ Dates were discussed to schedule a pr Dates that all members were available Matt Marietta to reserve the Council 1 was agreeable. Report from discussions with Alpharetta high school feeder teams ➢ Tom Mulroy will be meeting with ,Tim the EDAW Assessment to the public. til, 16l" and the 30th. The Board asked 16th so it would be available if EDAW *eation regarding agreement on fees for its matter next week. ■ Discussion of Board Meeting day and time ➢ At the request of one of the Board metalew day and time was discussed for the monthly meeting. After discussion, it w - that the present day and time worked for most of the Board and that if someon -oblem attending they can call in on the conference phone in the meeting room. 2 REPORTS OF COMMITTEE ■ Standing Committee — HYA and baseball/Softball —Tom Mulroy & Mark Shaw ➢ Discussed above. ■ Standing Committee — Finance & Budget — Curtis Mills/Sandy Shele ➢ Discussed above. ■ Standing Committee — Ci Code Chapter on Parks & Rec Fees & Charges Rental Policy Discussion — Mark Reed/Sabrina Moore ➢ Mark Reed states they have reviewed this Chapter and have some minor changes. Need to set a meeting with Brad to discuss further. ■ Standing Committee — Recreation Site — Mark Reed/Lauren Jackson ➢ Lauren Jackson suggested going to private schools and churches for space, this is an on- going matter. CITY STAFF REPORTS AND COMMUNICATIONS Nothing reported. OTHER BUSINESS NEXT REGULAR MEETING DATE ➢ Thursday, July 17,11:3o a.m. LOCATION OF MEETING ➢ The location of the meetings will be the Executive Conference Room in the City Manager's office. ADJOURNMENT Motion and Vote: Sandra Sheley made a motion to have the meeting adjourned. The motion was seconded by Mark Reed. The vote was unanimous and the motion carried. After no further business, the City of Milton Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee meeting adjourned at x:oo pm. DATE APPROVED: Mark Reed, Chair Milton Parks & Recreation, Advisory Board 3 City of Milton Parks and Recreation Advisory Board Finance Committee Committee Responsibilities — April 30, 2009 1. Annual Budget Preparation a. Primary responsibilities L Assist City staff with budget preparation for following year. ii. Assist in preparation of Capital Budget Request for following year. iii. Communicate to City Council for support b. Considerations i. This process starts in June for the following year. ii. Review existing budget iii. Consider needs for corning year, especially as to potential outcomes of comprehensive assessment for 2014 Budget 1. Community buildings 2. Phase I Birmingham Park development 3. Bell Memorial improvements 4. Providence Park, including community center 2. Budget Oversight a. Primary responsibilities i. Monthly Review of Operating Budget 1. Revenue and Expense to Plan 2. Budget variance analysis ii. Monthly Review of Capital Budget 1. Projects complete relative to plan for year 2. Spend compared. to Budget iii, Work with City Staff on variances and plans iv. Communicate with City Council periodically b. Note - Currently no Operating Budget — 0nly Capital 3. Creative and Alternate Financing a. Survey and research options for creative financing i. Grants — Foundations, government, private funding ii. Sponsorships J Advertising ill. Financing -- Methods to spread costs to allow immediate important improvements and progress with long-term financing 4. Potential for Future Consideration — Fees and Charges Policy and Philosophy a. General philosophy on degree of self sustenance for each park facility and the park facilities in aggregate. b. Potential considerations i. What services would be free and for fee, etc. ii. Intent of fees — General fund versus directed back to Parks. iii, Pricing for families with financial need. That is, ensuring that the parks are available to all citizens, while possibly maintaining a fee policy. iv. Park entry fees v. Fees for specific programs and activities vi. Pricing for Children versus Adults. vii. Facility rental and guidelines. Page: 1 of 1 Print Date: 4/30/2009 Milton Parks and Recreation Advisory Board Emerging issue of Milton Residents Being Charged Usury Fees For Participation in Alpharetta Recreation Programs introduction/issue The City of Alpharetta has imposed an additional 75% non-resident "fee" in addition to the cost of normal participation fee onto all recreation and parks activities. This fee is 50% higher than most non- resident fees in the area, including Milton's and seems particularly aimed at Milton. residents because of Milton resident's high participation level in Alpharetta activities. This high level of participation is driven by the lack of any comparable park or recreation offerings by the City of Milton. While not new and having been in place since late 2008 this excessive, usury fee:or tax will likely become a significant issue to many Milton families this fall. Since the onset of the usury fee enacted by the City of Alpharetta City Council and Parks and Recreation Department, the Alpharetta Youth Softball Association (AYSA) has been non-compliant to this edict and only charging non-residents a flat non-resident fee of $39.25.:each season. The City of Alpharetta is now forcing the AYSA to become compliant to the 75°/a:usury norf-residen:t:fee beginning in the Fall Season 2009. The cost of a non-resident AYSA participant will go fro m% $179 per season to approximately $245 per season. It is estimated that the City of Alpharetta will net over $40,000 per season in non-resident fees, or over $80,000 per year ih this non-resident tax. Currently the flat fee from AYSA alone nets the city.ap'proximately an additional $16,000 per season or $32,000 annually. Beginning next season tIne:.City of Alphpretta'vv:i.11 see a significant financial windfall from the compliance of this tax, the vast majority Of this will come from City of Milton residents. Although this fee has been known by many Milton residents for some time, it is presumed that the compliance of this fee by AYSA and its financial impact to so many Milton residents will make this a "sore -point" issue to the City of Milton residents. Background: The following is relevant information specific to AYSA: AYSA is a very successful youth sports program from girls ages 4-18, has over 750 participants in both the Fall and Spring seasons each year. Approximately 400 Milton residents are active participants in this highly successful league each season. ■ AYSA is based out of North Park, which is surrounded by the City of Milton and utilizes eight softball diamonds at North Park in two distinct seasons each year: o Fall Season (August to November) o Spring (January to May) AYSA has three distinct softball programs: ❑ Recreation Slow Pitch o knter-Park and Select Fast Pitch o Travel • Over 50% of these participants are non -Alpharetta residents with the vast majority (well over 55%) of these participants being Milton residents. The all volunteer AYSA is run by a 20 member Board of Directors. Over 50% of the current Board is non-residents with the majority of the non-resident Board of Directors City of Milton residents. • AYSA operates well in the black and has a Capitol lmprovernent.Budget in exeess: of $9,000. issue Ramifications: It is perceived and presumed that given these financial times and significant "tax" burden imposed on AYSA by the City of Alpharetta that: ■ Many City of Milton residents will be looking. -€or the City of.Mi[ton 'to provide similar programs for girls. ■ Many City of Milton residents will leave these programs altogether due to financial constraints and the female youth in our community wil [:not be offered programs. There are Title IX or gender.equality implications to the City of Milton due to the fact that there are no female parks or recreation -pro a:fferecl but limited programs for males via Hopewell Youth Baseball. • The City of Alpharetta. is unfairly. targeting City of Milton residents to fund its Parks and Recreation programs and beinefiting_from Milton's lack of programs facilities. Suggested Remedies/Strategies: The following are acti-onable remedies strategies both short and long term for consideration: • The City of Milton should consider immediately charging non-resident fees for its current programs that match the non-resident fees of the resident's city (ex. Alpharetta 751X,, Roswell 500/a, etc.). o Although this may not be a significant impact to many it sets the tone for a City to maintain a proper quid pro quo. The City of Milton should at several levels including Mayor, City Council, Parks and Recreation Boards engage the City of Alpharetta in substantive discussions on a reciprocity program for the residents. The goal of these discussions to come up with a plan that does not unfairly tax either city residents, dilute the successful programs already in place and collaborate on programs that benefit each city residents. Presumably this collaboration would be modeled after already established programs like Fire and Police which give both communities the ability to pool each other's resources in a fair and balanced manner. o This remedy should be done in a "carrot and stick" manner given that Milton resident's participation in Alpharetta Park and Recreation programs is significant financially and in participation to the overall success of the Alpharetta programs. o A public, negative perception of the unfair Alpharetta Parks and Recreation will not altogether kill their already established programs but will still have a significant impact on their success and overall offerings in the future. Alpharetta residents will suffer if there is a significant migration of Milton residents from their programs because of their usury taxes and fees. • In lieu of or in conjunction with a reciprocal solution, the City of Milton Parks and Recreation Board must study either a standalone or collaborative program of Park and Recreation programs at all levels that will meet the current needs and or enhance existing programs. The City is currently unprepared to meet the needs of its residents but needs to be prepared to deal with this issue if a reasonable solution cannot be worked out with its neighboring -communities. o There are potential resident issues and legal ramifications if there are not comparable female and male programs.. o Given the demographics of the City and high concentration of families, residents will make this into a significant political issue and the City of Milton will be forced into expensive action.