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Backup 07/10/1991 S Parks & Recreation Advisory Board ( PARAB ) Backup June 10 , 1991 wilmor EXECUTIVE SUMMARY RECOMMENDATION THAT THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS AUTHORIZE THE COLLIER COUNTY SCHOOL BOARD TO PROVIDE PREPARED FOOD FOR THE . .411 SUMMER FOOD SERVICE GRANT PROGRAM Objective: That the Board of County Commissioners authorize the Collier County School Board to provide prepared food for the Summer Food Service Grant Program. Considerations: The Summer Food Service Program has been successfully administered by the Parks and Recreation Department for the past seven (7) years. The Board of County Commissioners authorized the Parks and Recreation Department on March 26, 1991, to apply for the Summer Food Service Grant. The State of Florida approved this grant application for $85, 000 on June 11, 1991. For the Summer of 1991 the Collier County School Board has agreed to provide meals at a cost of $1.75 per lunch and $. 40 per snack. These prices are below the State average for a meal or snack of its kind. The total reimbursement rate from the State per meal is $2 . 14 and $ . 5625 per snack. All remaining State funds are used for the administrative and operational costs incurred by the Grant, i.e. food monitors ' salaries, transportation of the food, non-food supplies (coolers, trailer rentals, trash bags, etc. ) . For the past seven years the Collier County School Board has provided lunches and snacks to the Parks and Recreation Department for distribution in the Collier County Summer Food 411 Program which have met and/or exceeded the State ' s requirements. Fiscal Impact: Monies in the amount of $85, 000 for this program are totally offset by State grant funds. Growth Management: None Recommendation: Staff recommends that the Board of County Commissioners authorize the Collier County School Board to provide prepared food for the Summer Food Service Grant Program. Prepared by Date James R. Thomas, Athletic Supervisor Reviewed by Date Mary Ellen Donner, Recreation Superintendent Reviewed by Date Murdo Smith, Acting Parks and Recreation Director Reviewed by Date 410 Martha Skinner, Acting Public Services Administrator 5673 REPORT OF PUBLIC SERVICE DIVISION SUBCOMMITTEE ON THE DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION Purpose The Public Service Division Subcommittee reviewed the operation of the Parks and Recreation Department to determine methods to improve efficiency and effectiveness with particular attention to: . Fees and charges . Operational conditions . Recreational programs . Special programs Approach The Subcommittee reviewed the following documents:. . 1990-91 adopted budget . Parks and Recreation Organizational Chart -411 . . Brochures and pamphlets on programs and services . Special report on 1990-91 operating costs and revenues for each park location . Special report on • 80 1 et-ing costs and revenues for beach fac t�' u . Inventor of ' • Inventory f equ m� . Fee schedules fo various activities . Report of Sites and Acres Maintained The Subcommittee interviewed the following individuals . Murdo Smith, Acting Parks and Recreation Director . Gary Franco , Park Superintendent ▪ Mary Ellen Donner, Recreation Superintendent . Jean Egan, Senior Fiscal Clerk . Kim Kobza, Chairman, Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee . Bob Burn, Budget Analyst , Office of Management and Budget . Mike McNees , Director, Office of Management and Budget + Findings , Conclusions and Recommendations The Parks and Recreation Department has seen very significant growth in the past three years as the County has completed 11f the majority of projects funded by the 1982 bond issue . From a fledgling department which mostly utilized school and neighborhood facilities with a $1 . 1 million annual budget / five years ago , the Department now has 36 sites, a $3 . 15 million budget and 68 employees. The Department provides parks and recreation serves equal to those typically found in municipal governments . The time is optimal for a critique of this Department. It has matured and is undergoing a major shift of management personnel. The full operational impact on ad valorem taxes of the $8 million, 1982 bond issue is also being seen. It is an appropriate time to ask citizens what they want users to fund and what do citizens want to fund through ad valorem taxes. Incidentally, many park users are not taxpayers . If not charged a fee, they pay nothing for the service. Our overall recommendations include: 1 . An increased revenue-producing and entrepreneurial approach to the operation of the Department. We witnessed many areas where increase revenues could be realized, with little impact on Collier County taxpayers. 2 . Charging a standardized fee at all facilities which have been developed for a specialized user. Fee revenues �riouid equal the operating, maintenance and repair costs of the facilities. 3 . Viewing the Parks and Recreation Department as the enterprise operation it is, requir. g ccountability, marketing and promotion n & c t e system for its 4 . Standardization of parks maintenance equipment to minimize out-of-service time. Adding a repair element to the low-bid analysis of parks maintenance equipment. 5 . Develop additional sources of revenue to fund the Park Ranger program to pay for the increased and sometime duplicative services the Rangers offer or phase-out the program. USER FEES The agony over trying to decide what to charge and when is a never-ending one in the parks and recreation area. For the sake of this report , our recommendations are based upon charging a fee for any park or recreation facility which have been developed for a specialized user. This allows the park user who wishes to visit as a passive activity to do so without a charge. Once he or she wishes to engage in an activity, a fee would be charged equal to the cost . There are two exceptions : 1 . Not charge those under the age of 18 unless they are participating in league play with a sponsor. , 2 . If it costs more to collect the fee, then there should be no fee. The County also has a definite need for consistency in the items and locations for which it charges . In some cases , we found the County is consistent. We charge uniformly for recreation classes. We charge for concession items. We charge for league play organized by the Department. However, other than those areas we found inconsistencies. There is a parking charge at Clam Pass but not at the Bonita Beach parking facility. There are five boat launching facilities but only one , Caxambas Pass , has a fee. Fees for public facilities are often an emotional issue. Great political pressures are brought against County Commissioners to not charge fees. Yet, we have to question the wisdom of this pressure when another form of taxation, ad valorem, will be used to pay for the costs fees do not pay. An example was the proposal to raise beach parking to $2 per car last year. The fee is justified by direct operating costs of beach and beach parking facilities. There was a lot of citizenry opposition. As a result, some $160 , 000 in • operating costs for beach operations are being funded this year by ad valorem taxes. Beach Parking Fees p Di It is currently costing !e g ounty $358 , 000 a year to staff, maintain and protect the County' s seven beach facilities for which it provides facilities and services. It expects to collect about $198 ,000 in beach parking fees at the $1 per car rate . Fees are only collected where an attendant is present. Those locations include Clam Pass, Tigertail and Vanderbilt. Parking facilities are provided at the following locations where no fees are charged: Barefoot Beach Preserve 67 spaces Bonita Beach 100 spaces Gulfshore Blvd. North ( Seagate ) 25 spaces The current practice is to charge a fee only equal to the collection cost. Yet costs are incurred in other ways for these facilities . The above $358 , 000 cost includes maintenance , repairs and Park Rangers costs , pro-rated to time spent at each facility. Beach parking is currently operating at a $160 , 000 annual loss . Unfortunately, the beach parking fee issue has been highly politicized by comparably small user groups . A proposed $1 increase was rejected by the County Commission last year which came under significant pressure . Ad valorem taxpayers had to make up the difference for a fee increase which would had hardly been noticed by beach users of which 80% are estimated to be non- residents . 3 RECOMMENDATION: Based upon current activity and costs , the beach parking fee needs to be at $2 per car. This increase could be reduced somewhat by the implementation of parking meters in areas where no fee is charged. The use of parking meters should be particularly considered for the smaller, lesser used facilities . Park rangers are already available for enforcement and the capital costs per year are very low. The City of Naples collected over $290 , 000 from its 679 beach area meters last fiscal year, an average of $429 per meter per year. We don' t project County beach meters would earn as great an income. However, if each meter averaged $215 per year, the income would be over $40 , 000 annually, not including fines and forfeitures . Parking meters will cost about $45 ,000 to install. The cost will probably be recovered within the first year. The life is at least 10 years . Boat Ramp Fees The County soon will ha �e a� r p facilities. charges a fee at one , C mks ass. c It ss. The other facilities State Road 951 , Ba es , yview Park, Lake Trafford and Conklin Point near Wiggins Pass Marina which is to opened later this year. All receive considerable use. The State Road 951 boat ramp, which charges no fee, is suspected of competing with a boat ramp with a fee at Caxambas Pass. The fee at Caxambas is currently $2 and is collected by a private concessionaire with a County Contract to sell bait and fuel . RECOMMENDATION: A consistent fee be charged at each boat ramp facility throughout the County, utilizing staff where the activity warrants it and parking meters where the activity does not. Developed boat ramps should break even, considering all related activities not just parking attendants . Parking permits could be sold to frequent users . Fees Charged at Parks and Other Recreation Facilities We also found the same discrepancies regarding fees charged at parks . League softball and baseball players pay a fee . However, those who independently utilize the fields do not . Those using the football and soccer fields , even if most who play in an organized league , are charged no fees . Currently, the $110 , 000 cost of maintaining the 15 fields throughout the County and salaries of athletic staff is almost covered by the $103 , 000 in annual revenues . This area still needs to break even and be watched closely. Tennis players at the racquet club on Marco Island pay a fee . 4 Tennis players in the community parks do not. The County' s Racquet Club on Marco Island also deserves special consideration. It was purchased by the County in 1984 to provide a more organized tennis program on Marco Island. There is a center supervisor, who devotes his time to tennis programs elsewhere in the County, a tennis pro , one full-time and one part-time employee. Total expenses this year will be $80 , 203 while income is expected to be $50 , 000 , reflecting a $30 , 000 loss . We don' t see the inherent need for the County to operate a tennis program such as offered by the private sector, certainly not when it operates at a loss . RECOMMENDATION: The County should look at ways to reduce the loss or consider closing the Racquet Club. Two possible reasons for the loss is the fact that only two of the five courts are lighted and the courts are not the desired clay surface . They are modified asphalt. Tennis players can play on asphalt courts at Tommie Barfield School which are lighted for free. There is space for two additional courts if usage makes it . feasible. Promotion and marketing also needs to be reviewed. Beach Parking Fee Paid e ni t I 1 While the County charge u'ers to park at the major beach h facilities, it pays the City $96 , 000 so County residents may park free. This is also inconsistent with the overall policy proposed herein. RECOMMENDATION: We recommend that payment of any beach parking fee to the City be discontinued and the City be asked to provide a annual parking permit for County residents for a fee. If County residents do not wish to pay a meter charge, they can purchase this permit as they may now do for $30 to avoid County beach parking fees. RECREATION CLASS INCOME The County offers a proliferation of classes with minimum participation levels dictating whether or not the class is offered . Some 200 classes are held each year. Classes are either taught by independent contractors , with a 70/30 split of fees . The contractor receives 70%. The average class costs $25 per participant. They range in size from 5 to 15 participants . Classroom hours average about 1 . 5 hours per session for six weeks. An instructors ' earnings can range from $6 to $42 per hour. Consideration is being given to placing instructors on a per hour status to reduce cost . However, we would be cautious if the instructors recruit a significant number of c students for their classes . RECOMMENDATION: Tho hourly rate for instructors resulting from the current system varies greatly and can be very high. We suggest a review of the current contracting split but with caution in regard to instructor motivation. Possibly, the County could set a cap on the effective hourly rate . Consideration is also being given to a request by the YMCA to conduct classes at Parks and Recreation facilities. This should be considered very cautiously in terms of its negative net effect on revenues. PARKS SUPERVISION Each community park is allotted two full-time personnel , a parks supervisor and an assistant park supervisors. Park supervisors have overall responsibility to the park during all open hours. The parks supervisors are paid hourly and are restricted to 40-hours per week without overtime authorization. They are also required to teach classes 10 hours per week. Assistant park su a sors do just that and are required to teach a minimu o 0 ours per week. Overall income produced ''ire i iv duals and contract instructors is budgeted : ' l s: Park Location Operating Revenues Offset Expenses* Golden Gate Community Park $365 , 050 $82 , 400 22 . 6% Frank Mackie Community Park 283 , 911 52 , 900 18 . 6% East Naples Community Park 243 , 979 34 , 200 14 .0% North Naples Community Park 282 , 330 76 , 400 27 . 1% Immokalee Community Park 384 , 200 12 , 100 3 . 1% Other Facilities** 640 , 030 129 , 200 20 . 2% * Includes staffing , maintenance , repair and other other operational costs ** Includes facilities on school grounds , neighborhood parks , maintenance services to other county departments and recreation programs . The department currently has three assistant park supervisor positions short. Those $15 , 000 annual positions have not been filled due to the hiring freeze , leaving significant gaps in coverage in the parks and significantly impact the • parks ' revenue. In fact, these positions bring in as much income annually as their wages . There is no savings from not filling these positions . RECOMMENDATION: The three assistant parks supervisors be filled before the summer class season begins. Consideration be given to making parks supervisors salaried so their schedule will be dictated by park activities rather than an arbitrary schedule . RECOMMENDATION: Revenue goals, to be developed and recommended by the responsible park supervisor, be set for each community park. The attainment of that goal would be regularly reviewed. The park supervisor and other responsible staff members would be rewarded in proportion to attainment of the goal in the pay-for-performance system. COMMUNITY CENTERS The County currently operates two community centers with three under construction. The comet . ty center on Golden Gate Parkway is not included : i i funded by a special taxing district. Ther r t We om unity centers under construction in east an h ■:p es and Immokalee. Under the current County poli o not charging fees for non-profit VI- organizations , little income will be realized from these centers yet they require full-time staff as well as operating costs . RECOMMENDATION The existing policy of not charging a fee for not-for-profit organizations should be re-considered prior to the opening this fall of three additional community centers . The cost of operating five community centers with no significant revenues offers a very expensive proposition. PARK RANGER PROGRAM The Department has a Park Ranger program with three full-time rangers and one ranger supervisor. A fourth ranger is being added for assignment mostly at the Lely Barefoot Beach Park. The conception of this program in September, 1988 , was primarily based upon the need of additional enforcement of County ordinances in parks , a perception of the presence of law enforcement among park users , and the need for random patrol in park facilities for reduction of vandalism. Park Rangers were to be certified law enforcement aides with the authority to issue citations . Park Rangers are patrolling all park facilities from Marco Island to Immokalee, including a horseback patrol. Rangers perform other duties such as closing parks , patrolling park -facilities not staffed by County personnel , monitoring beach vendors , offering informational programs and the monitoring and protection of sea turtle nests . We have several concerns about this program: 1 . Many of the duties Park Rangers perform are also performed by the Sheriff' s Department such as beach and park patrols . For example , deputy sheriffs spend at least 15 hours per week patrolling beaches in north Naples, including Barefoot Beach. Deputies routinely are required to visit county parks two to three times daily. 2 . There is no significant criminal conduct problem in County Parks and beaches. If there were, Sheriff' s deputies would still need to be summoned. Any violation of State laws must be handled by a certified law enforcement officer. All County community parks and beach . .rks, with the exception of Lely Barefoot Bea h onita Beach Park, already have County staf o i ,o can summon Sheriff' s deputies whe h ises. 1 3 . Any chance of recovering some of the $100 ,000 plus Park Ranger program through fines and forfeitures from ordinance violation has been delayed for twelve months because of a delay in passage of the required ordinance . The rangers completed the necessary training in June , 1990 . 4 . Random patrol has only proven to be a significant deterrent of illegal conduct during the actual presence of the law enforcement officer. RECOMMENDATION: The Park Ranger program needs to be revenue funded or discontinued . The rangers spend at least 50% of their time in beach parks . Therefore , beach revenues should be increased to fund those costs. The need for Park Rangers in beach parks is actually greater rather than Community Parks where staff is usually present. Consideration should be given to increasing their activities at beach parks , with the additional revenues coming from beach parking fees . The installation of beach parking meters could be a source of the funding. Park Rangers would become responsible for IL collection of meter revenues and issuing meter violation citations. If ,the Park Ranger program is not funded by revenues and C their is a need for additional enforcement, our recommendation is to contract with the Sheriff' s Department for additional services. The Sheriff' s Department already a Community Service Aide program with the authority being sought for Park Rangers . RECOMMENDATION: If the program is continued, certifying Park Rangers to allow them to issue citations needs to be expedited. If each of the four rangers issued only one citation daily for County ordinance violation, the annual revenue from that activity could be as high as $30 ,000 , not including revenues from the parking meter recommendation. MARKETING AND PROMOTION We were unable to .determine the impact, but the marketing and promotion staff of the Department have been in effect cut in half. When a vacancy in the Recreation Supervisor, the second in command, occurred, h position was not filled due to the hiring freeze. Th. si ' on is responsible for recreation supervision :a r he ecreation Superintendent to spen 100 erable amount of time in marketing and promotion f programs, classes and activities. The impact is seen in a reduction in revenues. RECOMMENDATION: The Recreation Supervisor position be exempted from the hiring freeze and it be filled. PARKS MAINTENANCE AND EQUIPMENT Time did not permit an in-field analysis of park maintenance and equipment. The Department has five crews which maintain some forty locations on 331 acres, utilizing some 150 pieces of equipment. They were recently placed a ten-hour, four-day work week. The equipment list shows a proliferation of equipment manufacturers including eleven different mower manufacturers . This proves to a nightmare for maintenance and repair personnel . An adequate inventory of parts is very difficult to maintain. Parts must then be ordered . Familiarity with each manufacturer' s equipment is nearly impossible. Mechanics must refer to repair manuals , if available at all . Operator familiarity with backup equipment may reduce the work accomplished. All of these factors mean decreased productivity. We also found no consideration as to the dependability of the equipment when bids are being considered. When out-of-service time is considered, the low bid may be the high bid at the end of the life for equipment . Cis While vehicle purchase is the responsibility of others in County government, we also found no consideration of maintenance and repair costs of vehicle purchased for the Department. Many of the Departments' vehicles have some of the poorest rating in terms of reliability compared to other manufacturers. Many of the vehicles failed the National Highway Traffic Safety' s crash tests , indicating a crash • under the test conditions would have resulted in a high likelihood or virtual certainty of a serious or fatal injury. The County is self-insured. RECOMMENDATION: The County should consider standardization of its more common parks maintenance equipment, issuing a annual contract with a multi-year extension of the agreement. The cost of out-of-service time far outweighs the annualized purchase price. Equipment which has not proved dependable , as substantiated by County records , sh€..•' d not be invited to bid. We would suggest a mini m k ree years. RECOMMENDATION: UU There should be an analysis of existing equipment to determine its reliability in comparison with the cost of lost productivity. That equipment should be replaced. Each hour of a five-employee crew costs $38 per hour. RECOMMENDATION: The practice of Parks and Recreation maintenance crews maintaining library and Sheriff sub-station facilities should be reviewed at the time when an additional crew becomes necessary. Contracting these facilities should be an evaluated alternative. 110 l° COLLIER COUNTY GOVERNMENT DIVISION OF PUBLIC SERVICES 3300 SANTA BARBARA BOULEVARD PARKS AND RECREATION DEPARTMENT NAPLES, FL 33999 July 2, 1991 (813) 353-0404 A CERTIFIED BLUE CHIP COMMUNITY Mr. Gil Mueller 541 Blackmore Court Marco Island, Florida, 33937 RE: Special Meeting Dear Mr. Mueller: Please be advised that the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board has scheduled a meeting on July 10, 1991 at 1:30 p.m. This meeting will be held in the Administrative Office Conference Room at Golden Gate Community Park. Please RSVP by July 9. Thank you for your consideration. Very truly yours, Mr. Murdo Smith, Acting Director Collier County Parks and Recreation Department MS:rtd:003573 COLLIER COUNTY GOVERNMENT DIVISION OF PUBLIC SERVICES 3300 SANTA BARBARA BOULEVARD PARKS AND RECREATION DEPARTMENT NAPLES, FL 33999 July 2, 1991 (813) 353-0404 A CERTIFIED BLUE CHIP COMMUNITY Lieberfarb, Trieser, Kobza & Leigh, Chartered c/o Mr. Kim Patrick Kobza 801 Twelfth Avenue South Naples, Florida, 33940 RE: Special Meeting Dear Chairman Kobza: Please be advised that the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board has scheduled a meeting on July 10, 1991 at 1:30 p.m. This meeting will be held in the Administrative Office Conference Room at Golden Gate Community Park. Please RSVP by July 9. Thank you for your consideration. Very truly yours, yours, i /12ZGe�G�O Mr. Murdo Smith, Acting Director Collier County Parks and Recreation Department MS:rtd:003573 wilA . COLLIER COUNTY GOVERNMENT DIVISION OF PUBLIC SERVICES 3300 SANTA BARBARA BOULEVARD PARKS AND RECREATION DEPARTMENT NAPLES, FL 33999 (813) 353-0404 July 2, 1991 A CERTIFIED BLUE CHIP COMMUNITY Ms. Geneva Till 2164 42nd. Street S.W. Naples, Florida, 33999 RE: Special Meeting Dear Ms. Till: Please be advised that the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board has scheduled a meeting on July 10, 1991 at 1:30 p.m. This meeting will be held in the Administrative Office Conference Room at Golden Gate Community Park. Please RSVP by July 9. Thank you for your consideration. Very truly yours, Mr. Murdo Smith, Acting Director Collier County Parks and Recreation Department MS:rtd:003573 0 v I) \2 \ . ±2- 1 cv0 a� 2 - � _ -yamo \D 1D CD ' w% / / ~S q m(-1 « f-qF--k ® _ i r—� zzzP.---iG o�� 71- - r 3 a y ..--1- 3 0 0.-,..7.--.: ^ Fri o 7 • ,, COLLIER CO V T Y Ll ..,wig(-/-/,..., PA-11M5' AND RECREATION 7 DEPARTMENT '4 RECRE' FAx fF0 JVL TO: ._„- J ///er Ce,6"777`-/y C4)-7) 6- ATTENTION : Chefy. , ie 1 ', 7673- FROM : kia,o9oi? q /9a c C*o NUMBER OF PAGES INCLUDING COVER: ,2 MESSAGE: Se e., Xlici &ci /� ei� If you have any questions, please call (813) 353-0404, or Fax (813) 353-1002 3300 Santa Barbara Blvd., Naples, Florida 33999 "'OA COLLIER COUNTY GOVERNMENT DIVISION OF PUBLIC SERVICES 3300 SANTA BARBARA BOULEVARD PARKS AND RECREATION DEPARTMENT NAPLES,FL 33999 (813) 353-0404 July 2, 1991 A CERTIFIED BLUE CHIP COMMUNITY Ms. Cherryle Thomas 516-A Farm Workers Village Immokalee, Florida, 33934 RE: Special Meeting Dear Ms. Thomas: Please be advised that the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board has scheduled a meeting on July 10, 1991 at 1:30 p.m. This meeting will be held in the Administrative Office Conference Room at Golden Gate Community Park. Please RSVP by July 9. Thank you for your consideration. Very truly yours, Mr. Murdo Smith, Acting Director Collier County Parks and Recreation Department MS:rtd:003573