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HomeMy WebLinkAboutRes 2015-34 - Establish Sports Facilities Use PolicyCITY OF PALM DESERT CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE STAFF REPORT REQUEST: CONSIDERATION OF APPROVAL OF A SPORTS FACILITIES USE POLICY FOR THE CITY OF PALM DESERT. SUBMITTED BY: Ryan Stendell, Senior Management Analyst DATE: May 14, 2015 CONTENTS: Draft Resolution No. 2e15-34 Parks and Recreation Commission Meeting Minutes Recommendation Waive further reading and adopt Resolution No. 2015- 34 establishing a Sports Facilities Use Policy for the City of Palm Desert. Parks & Recreation Commission Recommendation: The Parks and Recreation Commission reviewed the proposed Sports Facility Use Policy at its March 2015 meeting. Staff indicated to the Commission that the long-standing policy was in need of an update, which was the desire of the Commission and City Council. The Commission discussed the proposed policy and had some questions related to priority of users and how tournaments are handled. At the conclusion of the discussion the Commission approved the policy by an 8-0 vote. Background The City has historically supported all youth sports by providing facilities at no charge to our local Palm Desert Youth Sports Associations. Providing the opportunity to play youth sports to our residents is an important service the City provides. Offering free field space helps keep the cost of the programs low and available to families of all income categories. Beyond traditional youth sports, several categories of sports use exists at Palm Desert facilities including youth club/travel teams, intramural play, and organized adult league play. The City arguably has the best sports fields in the Coachella Valley, which also makes them the most sought after. Quite often groups compete for space and in Staff Report Sports Facilities Use Policy 2015 May 14, 2015 Page 2 some cases attempt to stretch the truth in order to get free field space. The intent is to have a policy in place that clearly defines users, and is fair to all involved. Strategic Plan Objective Strategic Plan Objective #3 speaks to making recreation pervasive in all public spaces. The City has an excellent stock of public spaces that include sports fields. The recommendation to memorialize this policy will help staff in managing the most sought after spaces in the Coachella Valley. Fiscal Analysis There is no fiscal impact related to staffs request. Prepared By: Ryan Stendell Senior Management Analyst M. Wohlmuth, City Manager RESOLUTION NO. 2015- 34 A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PALM DESERT, CALIFORNIA, ESTABLISHING A SPORTS FACILITIES USE POLICY FOR THE CITY OF PALM DESERT. WHEREAS, the City Council of the City of Palm Desert, California, did on the 14th day of May 2015, did consider a request by the CITY OF PALM DESERT for approval to establish a Sports Facilities Use policy, as identified on Exhibit "A; and WHEREAS, said City Council did find the following facts and reasons to exist to approve said request: 1. The City has studied facilities use policies for parks and recreation facilities in the region and found the proposed policy to be appropriate. The proposed policy balances the needs to provide spaces for youth sports activities with other more competitive recreational programs. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the City Council of the City of Palm Desert, California, as follows: 1. That the above recitations are true and correct and constitute the findings of the City Council in this case. 2. That the City Council does hereby approve of Sports Facilities Use Policy as identified on Exhibit "A" of this resolution. PASSED, APPROVED AND ADOPTED at a regular meeting of the Palm Desert City Council, held on this 14th day of May 2015, by the following vote, to wit: AYES: NOES: ABSENT: ABSTAIN: Susan Marie Weber, Mayor ATTEST: RACHELLE D. KLASSEN, CITY CLERK CITY OF PALM DESERT, CALIFORNIA RESOLUTION NO. 2015-34 EXHIBIT "A" Policy & Procedures: The City recognizes that organized sports provides many parallels to how individuals function in every -day life and has invested significantly into the parks to accommodate this need. It is the intent of this policy to not only set priority for scheduling of each use, but to clearly define at what level fees for services are charged. All scheduling and fee collection is handled through the Desert Recreation District (DRD) at the Palm Desert Community Center. Definitions: Palm Desert Based Youth Sports Organizations: Youth sports provide a valuable service to the community by providing opportunities for children to experience sports i n a s a f e, h e a I t h y, a n d fun manner. The focus of youth sports organizations is to promote the value and importance of sports activities in the physical, social, mental and emotional development of our youth. Youth sports organizations are generally not -for -profit volunteer organizations made up of local community members. Fees for play for a season are generally affordable ranging from $50-$200 for a season based on the sport being played. Youth Club or Travel Teams: These teams generally place a much higher emphasis on competitiveness, excellence, or the desire to play a sport at the highest possible level. Coaches can be required to have licensure through the governing organization and are often paid for their services as a coach. These programs are generally much more expensive than basic youth sports programs as many staff members are paid for their services. Fee structures vary by league but are generally at least three times that of a youth sports league. Organized Adult League: Any organized sporting group comprised of adults, ages 18 years or older. Priority of Use: The City contracts with the DRD to reserve our parks facilities and provides direction relating to prioritization of users. Priority of use is as follows with number one being the highest priority use. 1. Palm Desert Youth Based Sports Organizations 2. Palm Desert Based Youth Club/Travel Teams 3. All other Youth Club/Travel Teams 4. Organized Adult Leagues 5. First come, first served when no reservations are made RESOLUTION NO. 2015-34 Fees & Charges: All fees and charges will be assessed per the Desert Recreation Districts Fees and Charges Policy and Manual. The DRD reimburses the City on a monthly basis for all fees assessed on the City's behalf. The DRD's fees and charges are approved yearly and are designed to complement those available throughout the community. The DRD's fees and charges provides for two applicable categories of fees to be assessed which are outlined below: Community Use: Defined as non-commercial use, which serves the general public where no admission fee, vendor fee and/or donation is requested or received. This usage is reserved for public events/meetings that are for the general public that may include non-profit organizations and government use. Non-profit organizations must meet the District criteria to be classified as non- profit by providing proof of tax exempt status pursuant to 26 U.S.C. 501(c)(3). For athletic fields, only District -recognized recreational youth sports organization regular season practice and league play is recognized in this category. Invitational tournaments, exclusive club teams, travel teams and adult leagues are considered commercial use. Commercial Use: Defined as all other uses that do not meet the criteria for Community and Private use as defined above. All businesses, regardless of whether a fee is charged, or a product is being sold, fall within this classification, i.e. those providing free financial advice, tax seminars, retirement planning, etc. Tournament Use: Tournament use will be charged at commercial rates for all user groups. For the purposes of this policy, only the Palm Desert Based Youth Sports would qualify as Community Use, and be available for field space fee free. All other use categories would pay standard commercial rates set forth in the fees and charges manual. PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION APPROVED MINUTES MARCH 03. 2015 III. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS Chair Deborah Hall, wanted to take the opportunity to welcome new appointed commissioner, Mike Hardin and Lindsay Holt who will serve on the commission as an alternate. IV. CONSENT CALENDAR A. MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF TUESDAY, JANUARY 13, 2015 Rec: Approve as presented Upon a motion by Commissioner Kelly, second by Commissioner Guyer, carried by a, 8-0-1 vote of the Commission (AYES: Kelly, Guyer, Hall, Dawson, Housken, Jutovsky, Hardin, Holt; NOES: None; ABSENT: Rodriguez) the Consent Calendar was approved as presented. V. NEW BUSINESS A. YOUTH SPORTS POLICY Ryan Stendell stated that the presentation of the Memo is intended as a clarification of what staff believes is a historic Youth Sports Policy. This was brought forward from some of the things that the soccer league was currently doing, as far as how we handle new user groups, or new leagues, and clarification of what basic Youth Sports is. Mr. Stendell stated that the draft memo to the City Manager is intended to identify any Palm Desert youth based sports, which historically the city provided fee free field space. Secondly, defining the other two user groups are the club and travel ball groups, and organized adult leagues. Once we pass the threshold of basic Youth Sports, people will pay the commercial rates that are shown in the Desert Recreation District's fees and charges manual; right now for adult leagues field space is $30 /hour and if fights are needed that is an additional $30, and for non -organized adult leagues, those fees are actually half. Mr. Stendell wanted to give some sort of context of what the current fees are at the DRD, which might seem terribly expensive, but they are to recover some of the lighting expenses, because lighting can be costly. Also, going further in, the priority of use, we have always prioritized the youth based sports in Palm Desert. Next would be, youth based clubs, all other clubs and adult clubs, and then first -come, first -served. Mr. Stendell also mentioned that we all know that tournaments have come up in that past, we wanted to make sure that it was clear, no matter which group, whether its youth sports, or club travel they pay commercial rates, because tournaments can be big revenue generators. Mr. Stendell expressed to the commission that what he presented to them, will be presented to the Council, and hopes for the policy to be adopted. 2 PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION APPROVED MINUTES MARCH 03.2015 Commissioner Housken asked with regards to tournament use, would that be proper to put it up under the definition of what tournament use is; secondly with regards to priority of use, should tournament use be listed under priorities and if so, where would it fall. City Manager, John Wohlmuth stated that it would depend on what is considered a youth tournament, a club tournament considered an adult tournament Commissioner Housken proceeded to say that since we are indicating that it depends on certain issues, we should list it under the term priority of use, or factor it in their like a youth tournament perhaps, or should that fall after the youth club travel team or after the organized adult leagues. She is simply asking where the priorities fall under. Lastly, under commercial use, what is that defined under. Mr. Stendell stated that private is defined as stated on the memo he presented. Commissioner Housken recognized that after having expressed her uncertainty, she wanted to say that she is happy that we are doing something like this, because it's a subject that was talked about years ago and the way that tournaments were, it seemed as if they were hosted by a local team, and then the local team would get a free slot in the tournament, a slot with a value of almost $400, and then the tournament use of our fields for no cost. Ms. Housken again, expressed how happy she is with this Youth Sports Policy. Mr. Stendell stated that at a staff level, that has not happened within the last five years, knowingly. Again, Mr. Stendell stressed that the purpose of doing this is to have it writing Sabby Jonathan wanted to commend Mr. Stendell for going through this process, and also wanted to mention that he did bring in the stake holders, the soccer community in this process and what the draft represents, and he believes this policy will be well received Mr. Stendell stated that the reason why we love all our youth groups is because we have great representation and great relationships, and the reason this came up also, is because the soccer league is looking at Cal South programs and they have a bucket full of programs, which compelled us to look at their program tiers of uses. Chair Hall had a question regarding the adult organized leagues, on whether you're a Palm Desert adult league, or from another city in the valley, does it make a difference. 3 PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION PPROVED MINUTES MARCH 03. 2015 Mr. Stendell stated he doesn't differentiate only because it's pretty standard in adult recreation fee for service, whether or not one is a gym member there is a standard out there that we are not going to get anything for free in the adult world, with that being said Mr. Stendell clarified that there is no difference on whether a league is local or not. John Wohlmuth stated a fact that adults will and can in fact drive if they are not local, to a facility that has a more competitive environment or less competitive, as opposed to a youth where they have to be driven; secondly you will find that the adults will be from all over the area, or do you measure how many teams are city residents. Commissioner Kelly inquired in regards to the tournaments, if each one of the groups request space for tournaments; because if the priority use would be like a palm desert youth base sports organization having a tournament, wouldn't that tournament be included in their group, or are tournaments something completely separate. Mr. Stendell clarified that tournaments are completely separate, and the reason why is because youth sports organization are usually large fundraisers and can be very lucrative if run correctly, which is great, but can be very intensive for the facility which can require us to staff the event. Commissioner Kelly proceeded to ask how it is determined who will get first place in tournament space. Mr. Stendell stated that the same approach would be taken, similar to the priority use. Commissioner Kelly moved to motion, to approve the Youth Sports Policy. Motion was seconded by Vice Chair Dawson, and carried by a, 8-0-1 (AYES: Kelly, Dawson, Hall, Guyer, Housken, Jutovsky, Hardin, Holt; NOES: None; ABSENT: Rodriguez) VI. CONTINUED BUSINESS A. None VII. OLD BUSINESS A. FREEDOM SKATE / BIKE AREA Ryan Stendell spoke about what was discussed at the last meeting regarding what to do with the volleyball courts on the west, pickleball courts on the east, and a new proposed picnic area. Mr. Stendell also stated that he will be providing a new CIP plan, and it will be addressed for the next capital budget meeting. 4