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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda Item - 2001-11-05 - Number 3.3 - 3.3 11/05/01 CITY OF LAKE OSWEGO AGENDA REPORT SUMMARY MEETING DATE: November 5, 2001 SUBJECT: Review and discuss athletic field fees with the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board and provide guidance to staff and PRAB on establishing or increasing fees to recoup the costs of maintaining and lighting athletic fields. RECOMMENDED MOTION: No motion required. ESTIMATED FISCAL ATTACHMENTS: NOTICED (Date): IMPACT: • October 31, 2001 staff $0 report STAFF COST: $0 Ordinance no.: BUDGETED: Y N Resolution no.: FUNDING SOURCE: Previous Council consideration: No X 4('`;"' . 761LIN DEPARTMENT DIRECTOR CITY MANAGER /0 sign ff/d to signof/date 44--LAKE osk,FCo Parks and Recreation Department Memorandum oitmos To: Doug Schmitz, City Manager From: Kim Gilmer, Parks & Recreation Director Subject: Athletic Field and Lighting Fees Date: November 1, 2001 ACTION Request that the City Council provide preliminary policy guidance to staff and the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board (PRAB) on a percentage of costs recovery for maintaining and lighting athletic fields. BACKGROUND Between 1995 and 2001 the City has made a significant investment in athletic fields by spending $5,480,698 on capital improvements to city and school district properties. At the same time, the City also maintains this investment by spending funds on staff and materials to maintain and light these fields. Over the past five years the costs of athletic field maintenance has steadily increased. During this fiscal year, the City is budgeted to spend $435,684 in athletic field maintenance, which is an 18.1% increase over previous year's costs. In addition to a general increase in costs, electricity rates increased 67% this October. This increase will result in an additional$12,000 to light athletic fields this year. To offset these costs, it's anticipated that approximately $44,000 in revenues will be collected from fees charged to user groups, which include both non-profit youth sports organizations and city run high school and adult leagues. Thus, the City will recoup just 10% of the costs of maintaining athletic fields. Each year the City Council approves master fees and charges for City services. At their October 19 meeting, PRAB reviewed and approved all proposed Parks and Recreation fees for 2002,with the exception of athletic field use fees. PRAB's philosophy regarding field use fees has been that fees should be fair and equitable so that all Lake Oswego citizens have reasonable access to recreational sporting activities. At this meeting, PRAB discussed the current athletic field use and lighting fees and determined that some changes to the current fees should be considered,particularly in relation to lighting charges,yet no specific recommendations were made. DISCUSSION In addition to property tax revenues, user fees have been the sole source of additional income for offsetting maintenance costs. A variety of user fees are charged which include field use fees, light card fees, and tournament fees. The majority of revenues collected come from field use fees, followed by light card fees. Light Cards Light Cards are purchased by team coaches on a per year basis that allows them to turn on field lights as needed. The current cost per card is$15, which is a $5 increase over 2000. The City anticipates collecting$1,330 in FY 01-02 from this fee. Field Use Fees Field Use Fees are assessed to individual users on a per season basis. The current resident rate is $7/player/season for youth and $10/player/season for adults, which is a$1 increase per player over 2000. The City anticipates collecting $30,000 from youth leagues, and $14,000 from adult leagues during FY 01-02. Although players pay the same rate, some teams use fields more frequently than others depending upon the length of the season. For example, youth sports programs include games and practices extending over a 2-3 month period on average,while adult sport leagues generally only include games and last 9 to 10 weeks. The following chart describes the average cost per use, and is used only as an approximation. Field Use Fee Ave. Season Length # Uses/season Cost per Use Youth $7/player/season 2-3 months 24-36 $.19 - $.29 Adult $10/player/season 9-10 weeks 9-10 $1.00-$1.10 Rate Increases It is clear that additional revenues must be identified in order to offset the escalating costs of maintaining and lighting athletic fields,or the City will need to reduce its maintenance standards. However, the challenge is to determine which rates to increase and to do so in a manner that does not place an undue financial burden on any one particular user group, or a significant and expensive administrative burden on the Parks and Recreation Department. In order to begin addressing the issue,staff recommends that two steps be taken: 1. Determine what percentage of the costs of maintaining and lighting athletic fields should be covered by fees. 2. Decide which fees should be increased to achieve this percentage. Determining Percentage of Costs Council guidance is requested to assist PRAB and staff in determining the appropriate percentage of costs that should be recouped by fees. As mentioned previously, fees currently cover just 10% of the overall costs. Which Fees to Increase As mentioned previously a number of different types of fees make up the bulk of the athletic fee revenue collected. The question becomes which fees should be increased? Should the focus be on increasing field use fees for all users and/or initiating a lighting surcharge? Other possibilities may also exist and should be explored as needed. Lighting Fees A case can be made that groups using lights for games and practices are directly benefiting and therefore should pay the full costs. Currently the city pays for lighting five athletic fields-George Rogers Park, Waluga Park, Westlake Park, Waluga Junior High School, and Lake Oswego Junior High School. The historic costs of lighting these fields have averaged $20,000 per year. As mentioned, the increase in electrical rates this past October will result in an additional$12,000 in costs. PRAB recognizes that this is a significant increase and has suggested a lighting surcharge be considered,however a specific amount has not yet been determined. Field Use Fees Deciding upon a rate and method for assessing field fees is a major challenge due to the nature of league seasons, frequency of use for games and practices, and the difficulty in streamlining an effective reservation and fee collection process. If field fees were to be increased significantly, staff would need to meet with user groups and the Team Sports Advisory Committee to determine the best method of implementing the new fees to achieve equity amongst users and to insure ease in administration. RECOMMENDATION At the November 5, 2001 City Council and PRAB workshop, staff will be presenting more specific information about athletic field maintenance expenses and user fees to help facilitate a discussion about the direction that should be taken in regards to athletic field use fees. Staff's anticipated outcome from this meeting is that Council and PRAB decide upon the following issues so that staff can meet with user groups and then finalize proposed athletic field use fees for the 2002 Master Fee schedule. Staff requests Council to: • Determine a percentage of the costs of maintaining and lighting athletic fields to be recovered by fees; and • Decide whether a lighting surcharge will be assessed and/or field use fees will be increased. After Council provides this preliminary policy guidance, staff will begin meeting with the user groups.