Parks, Recreation & Forestry Advisory Board

Parks, Recreation, & Forestry Advisory Board – AGENDA Thursday, September 21st, 2023, City Council Chambers 7:30 A.M. City Spearfish is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting. Topic: Parks, Recreation, & Forestry Advisory Board Time: Sep 21, 2023, 07:30 AM Mountain Time (US and Canada) Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81099598759 Meeting ID: 810 9959 8759 --- One tap mobile +17193594580,,81099598759# US +12532050468,,81099598759# US --- Dial by your location • +1 719 359 4580 US • +1 253 205 0468 US • +1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma) • +1 346 248 7799 US (Houston) • +1 669 444 9171 US • +1 669 900 9128 US (San Jose) • +1 646 558 8656 US (New York) • +1 646 931 3860 US • +1 689 278 1000 US • +1 301 715 8592 US (Washington DC) • +1 305 224 1968 US • +1 309 205 3325 US • +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago) • +1 360 209 5623 US • +1 386 347 5053 US • +1 507 473 4847 US • +1 564 217 2000 US Meeting ID: 810 9959 8759 Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/keeZgzxE8a Next Meeting – October 19th , 2023, 7:30 A.M. Council Chambers  Parks, Recreation, & Forestry Advisory Board – AGENDA Thursday, September 21st, 2023, City Council Chambers 7:30 A.M. CALL TO ORDER ROLL CALL DECLARATION OF ANY POTENTIAL CONFLICTS OF INTEREST APPROVAL OF AGENDA APPROVAL OF MINUTES PUBLIC COMMENT OLD BUSINESS Board Items • Question and answer session on the September staff update. NEW BUSINESS Director Items • Discuss sports field pay-to-play structure and establish a sports field task force. Rec & Aquatic Center • Adjust the 2024 fees at the Spearfish Rec and Aquatics Center. FYI ITEMS • October meeting date • PRF Advisory Board Compensation ADJOURNMENT Next Meeting – October 19th , 2023, 7:30 A.M. Council Chambers  September Park, Rec, and Forestry Advisory Board Update Director Update: Exit 8 Rec Path Expansion: Phases 2 and 3 of the rec path expansion projects are slowly moving forward. The DOT reviewed the plans and found a couple of issues that they were concerned about and sent them back to our consultant for changes. It is looking more like this project will take place in the spring of 2024 and hopefully be complete by the fall of 2024. Sports Complex The sports complex is moving along quite well. The turf that was seeded last fall is coming in very well. The turf that was seeded this spring still has some time to go before it is considered established. The contractor is fertilizing every two weeks and the rain this summer has been a big help in getting the grass established. I am confident that there will be organizations playing out there in the fall of 2023 and possibly even spring if we continue to have a cool and wet summer and fall. Phase 2 is going well. The third restroom is complete. After some installation issues with the playground, those have been remedied and the park staff are hauling in wood chips for fall protection. The shade structures and picnic shelter have been erected. There was some confusion about the color of the roofing and the wrong material was ordered. That is being exchanged and will match the rest of the complex. The City Council approved the change order for the path from gravel to concrete at the last meeting and that path has been poured and is finished. Skate Park I received a letter from the SD Game, Fish, and Parks saying that our grant application was denied. They received over 20 project applications totaling $2.2 million in funding requests. They awarded 7 projects totaling $808,000. We will apply for that grant next year in hopes of receiving it on our second try. I am not hopeful that we will as the pushback from the neighborhood residents seems to have affected the grant committee's selection. The lack of grant funds will make this project more difficult to complete. Fundraising will become more critical and if this board and City Council want to move forward with a new skate park, it will have to be predominantly funded with city funds. The next steps will be to enter into a design agreement with the ARC to design construction plans in 2024 while at the same time applying for more grants. Evans Park The contractors started the renovation in August. So far, they have leveled the structure and poured a new base. The slide has been removed and is being reconfigured to meet standards. As of the last report on the Facebook page, they still need to raise $44,000 for materials.  September Park, Rec, and Forestry Advisory Board Update The City’s portion of the project is moving along. The playground installers arrived on September 10th and began installing the playground on September 11th. The installation should take around 10 days to complete. After that, the surfacing contractor will come in and install the turf surfacing. The new equipment should be finished and opened for use by the end of September or early October. Spearfish Community Foundation Project All the towers have been installed and the electrician has hooked up the electricity to them. We are waiting for the new AED to be shipped. The SCF is hosting a public information meeting on the new AEDs next Tuesday at 5:30 PM in the Spearfish High School Auditorium. The meeting will inform the public about how the project came about, the locations of the AEDs, sponsorship opportunities, and more. Bandshell Unfortunately, we did not receive the Wellmark Foundation grant for the bandshell project. There were over 100 entries and only 14 were picked to be funded. Staff are applying for a $50,000 community improvement grant from T-Mobile this fall. The plan is to have the design finished by this fall and bid the project this winter to receive a good price. Construction would start in the spring of 2024 with completion by mid to late summer. Staff met last week with Williams and Associates for an update. The plan is to have the full construction plans finished by October and either bid the project this fall or use a construction manager at risk for the construction. Staff have requested funds in the 2024 budget to complete this project. Pay-to-Play I was asked by the City Administrator to prepare and present a presentation on pay-to-play to the City Council at the August 16th Study Session. The associations were also invited to that meeting to discuss the impacts of charging them for the use of field space. The City Council asked staff to work with the PRF Advisory Board to create a task force to discuss the issue. Staff will present a presentation at our September board meeting to start things off. Grants To date, staff have applied for four grants (Wellmark Foundation for the Bandshell, RTP grant for solar lighting along the rec path, the LWCF grant for the skate park, and the Spearfish Community Foundation for the AEDs.) We recently received a letter stating that we received $158,757 towards installing more solar lights on the rec path. This phase will include City Park, Rotary Park, Log Cabin area, and Salem Park. This project will take place in 2024 pending budget approval.  September Park, Rec, and Forestry Advisory Board Update Parks Maintenance Superintendent Update 1. Evans Park playground a. Demo was completed on time and installation of the new playground began on 9/11 b. Materials for surfacing were delivered this week and installation of the new surfacing will begin once the playground installation is complete 2. Sky Ridge playground a. Installation was completed recently, and woodchips were hauled on-site and will be installed over the next week b. The playground will open upon substantial completion of the complex 3. Spartan Park bleachers and pads a. New concrete pads and new bleachers were installed at Spartan Park on the upper football field b. These bleachers were purchased as part of the CIP to replace bleachers that were damaged or did not meet current safety standards 4. Spearfish Community Foundation AED towers project a. All AED towers were installed and wired on time b. The will be activated in the near future when all the AED units arrive 5. Memorial Tree Program a. 3 trees will be planted this fall as part of our Memorial Tree Program Rec Center Facility Superintendent Update Indoor Memberships: • Our membership on 9-13-23 was 2,338. This is a decrease of 24 members since the last report and an increase of 240 from one year ago. • We have 252 24-hour memberships. This number is not included in the above number since you must have an active regular membership to be eligible for the 24-hour membership. This is the exact same as the last report. o On the same date in 2022, we had 219 24-hour memberships. • 482 members use 1 of the 5 insurance reimbursement programs we belong to. This is an increase of 18 since the last report. • We have 163 youth that have a membership that is not part of a family membership, and 577 members with a family membership. Indoor Day Passes: • Between August 9th and September 13th, we sold 294 adult day passes, 289 youth day passes, and 12 walking day passes. Averaging 17 per day, this is a decrease of 5 per day since the last report.  September Park, Rec, and Forestry Advisory Board Update o During the same time period last year, we averaged 21 passes per day. • Year to date we have sold 2,804 adult day passes. 182 more than last year. 246 walking day passes, 149 less than last year. 3,629 youth day passes 621 less than last year. In total, we have sold 6,679 day passes which is 588 fewer day passes this year than last year. Membership Scans: • Between August 9th and September 13th, we had 13,652 scans averaging 379 per day. This is 98 less per day than the last report. This number also includes waterpark memberships. • Year to date we have had 91,647 membership scans averaging 358 scans a day. We averaged 48 more scans per day in 2023 than we did in that same time period last year. o In 2022 during the same time period, we had 79,450 membership scans. Point of Sale: • January 1st through September 13th, point of sale has done $469,389.66 in sales. This is an increase of $11,530.08 compared to the same time last year. • Since the last report, we have had $96,861.14 in sales. o This is a decrease of $50,175.61 since the last report. o This is an increase of $6,870.91 compared to last year. • Our best-selling concessions item this period continues to be Nachos with 809 sold. This is an average of 31 per day. Waterpark: • For the season we sold 16,470 over 48-inch day passes, 1,617 Spectator passes, 2,065 under 48- inch day passes, 1,066 group passes, and 1,909 $5 at 5 passes. For a total of 23,127. o In 2022 we sold 19,044 over 48-inch day passes, 1,745 Spectator passes, 2,440 under 48-inch passes, 1,154 group passes, and 2,275 $5 at 5 pm passes. For a total of 26,658, for a total of 3,531 more last year. o This decrease is attributed to closers due to weather this season. • Between August 9th and September 4th, we sold 5,649-day passes. Averaging 209 per day. This is a decrease of 109 per day since the last report. o During the same period last year, we sold 6,038-day passes. 349 more than this year. Staffing: o We currently have an open full-time Customer Service Assistant position.  September Park, Rec, and Forestry Advisory Board Update Programming: • Leagues: o We are currently in the middle of the youth flag football season there are 35 1st and 2nd graders, 30 3rd and 4th graders, and 17 5th and 6th graders for a total of 82 kids playing this year. We changed to a 7 on 7 format instead of 11 on 11. We have 8 teams in total. o We will be starting 5 on 5 adult basketball on September 26th. Registration is open. • Holiday Market: o The Holiday Craft Fair Market is scheduled for December 9th. We already have 50 vendors booked for the event. We limit it to 83 booths. • Summer Rec o In June we had 108 different students participate in the full-day option, and 46 in the half-day option. o In July we had 96 different students participate in the full-day option, and 30 in the half- day option. o In August we had 91 different students participate in the full-day option, and 18 in the half-day option. o All of the Wednesday field trips were full with 40 participants. Each one had a waiting list with the lowest being 3 on the waiting list, and the highest being 34 on the waiting list. o 178 students registered for Summer Rec Fitness: • The September schedule is out and includes Silver Sneaker classes, HIIT Classes, Fusion Classes, Spin Classes, Line Dancing Classes, Karate, and Zumba. The full schedule and class descriptions are available on our website. Sports Field Facility Rate Discussion Tyler Ehnes Parks and Recreation Director City Facilities • Parks and Rec Dept. currently takes care of 5 facilities totally nearly 88 acres. • Black Hills Energy Complex • Legion Baseball Field-Post 164 and Sasquatch (Spring, Summer) • Youth Softball Field-SYBSA, Multiple Fast Pitch Teams (Spring, Summer), High School Girls (Spring) • Soccer Field-High School Boys and Girls (Fall), BHSU Women’s Soccer (Fall), Spearfish Youth Soccer (Spring and Fall) • Sawmill Sports Complex • Teener Baseball Field-Teener Baseball (Spring, Summer), NH Rapids(Fall, Spring) • Majors and Minors Fields-Spearfish Youth Baseball, Shortbills (Spring, Summer) • T-Ball Fields-Spearfish Youth Baseball (Spring, Summer), Spearfish Youth Soccer (Fall) • Ronnie Thiesz Soccer Field-BHSU Women’s Soccer (Fall) City Facilities • Hillsview Soccer Field • Spearfish Youth Soccer (Spring and Fall) • Spartan Park Complex • Upper Field-Spearfish Rams Football (Fall), Spearfish Youth Soccer (Spring) • Lower Field-Rec Center Flag Football (Fall), Spearfish Youth Soccer (Spring) • Sky Ridge SportsPlex • Softball Fields-Spearfish Adult Softball (Spring, Summer, Fall), Spearfish Youth Softball (Spring, Summer, Fall) • Soccer Fields-Spearfish Youth Soccer (Spring, Fall) Other City Facilities • Lions Park-Spearfish Youth Soccer (Spring and Fall) • Pickleball Courts-PB Association (Spring, Summer, Fall) • Madison Ice Rink-NH Amateur Hockey Association (Winter) • Disc Golf Course-Spearfish Disc Golf Association (Year-Round) Current Process • Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) • Currently have 23 agreements with local associations for our current facilities. • BHSU, School District, Spearfish Youth Soccer, SYBSA, Shortbills, Fast Pitch Teams, Spearfish Rams, Legion and Teener Baseball, Sasquatch, NH Hockey, Spearfish Disc Golf, BH Rapids. • $0 agreements that spell out responsibilities. • One exception-Spearfish Sasquatch Lease-$375 per game. • Organizations responsible for mowing, weed eating, game prep, restroom cleaning, and trash pickup. • City responsible for utility bills (in some cases it is shared), irrigation repairs, structural repairs, and major field maintenance (fertilizing, spraying, aerating, topdressing, etc.) Current Process Continued • Old Way of Doing Things • Started in the early 2000s to spell out usage and duties. • Dated system with challenges regarding field use priorities. As Spearfish has grown, the need for field space has grown as well. This system makes it difficult to distribute field space equitably. • Scheduling complications for city staff. • No cost recovery to the city. 100% supplemented with tax dollars. The annual Spectator Rec Budget is approximately $575,000. (Staff, utilities, chemicals, fertilizer, structural repairs, irrigation repairs etc.) Does not include any improvements. Sky Ridge • The development of Sky Ridge has brought the need to change our way of doing things. • Cost Recovery • Over $12 Million capital investment for the City. • Doubled operating costs. • Mowing and other maintenance of the facility is not realistic to put on the associations due to size. (Large fields, 130+ irrigation zones, several structures) Other Communities • Rapid City, Sturgis and Vermillion-All use MOUs or maintenance agreements of some kind. RC and Sturgis considering a PTP model. Vermillion staff would like to move to a PTP, but there is no Council support for it. • Watertown, SD-$40/Field/Day • Pierre, SD-$150 Deposit, $50/Field/Day, $100/Field/Night • Mitchell, SD-Combination of per athlete per practice or game. Different fees for local teams vs out of town teams. Different fees for day and night, Fees for renting concession stands. Mitchell, SD Caldwell/Pepsi Complex Per athlete Facitlity Practice Use 13+ Baseball/Soccer $21.00 Per athlete facility practice use fee 12 and under - Baseball/Soccer/Tennis $11.00 Field or Diamond per day - Softball/baseball/soccer $35.00 Field or diamond per day -Stadium (Non-Mitchell Teams) $100.00 Drake Field (non-Mitchell Teams) High School $200.00 Drake Field (non-Mitchell Teams) $300.00 Drake Field (Non Mitchell Teams) College $300.00 Soccer light (Per Hour) $20.00 Softball Lights (Per Hour) $20.00 Baseball Light (Per hour) $35.00 Concessions Stands Drake & Soccer Fields (Minimum) $330.00 Concession Stand Caldwell Stadium (Minimum) $400.00 Other Ideas • Flat Rates • Charge an annual fee specific to each organization. Example $X for use of certain complexes or fields. • Combination of MOUs and Tournament Fees • Continue with MOU structure but charge associations for tournament usage. • Nuclear Option • Have the city take over and operate all recreational programs. • Huge undertaking, would need an entire department of staff within the rec center to operate, schedule and coordinate. • Many other cities do this, Spearfish currently operates differently. • Make no changes to how we currently operate. Considerations • Spearfish associations have never had to pay to play. • Upping fees, fundraising, tournament revenue etc. • City needs to recover some costs, but not make it so expensive that our youth cannot participate, or the associations can’t exist. • City currently charges for gym rental at the rec center for basketball usage ($30/hour NPO, $35/hour regular rate). • Currently charge Sasquatch $375/game. Moving Forward • Staff recommends creating a sports field task force made up of local association members, PRF Board members, and city staff to research and possibly implement a new system. • Meet over the course of this fall and winter. • Present the new system to the PRF board in the spring. • Bring to CC in spring/summer for consideration. • New system goes effective in 2025. Questions and Discussion  Recommendations from the Recreation Committee Memberships Comparisons Type Current Recommendation Last Changed Notes $200 (includes Waterpark season $105 half two increase $10 $210 10/25/2021 pass (half Price Sale) price sale buddy passes) Belle Fourche $3.25; Gillette $6; (pool was under construction so price was reduced); Waterpark Day pass $12 Increase $1 $13 10/25/2021 Mitchell $6; Watertown $7; Aberdeen $8; over 48 inches Watiki $20-$35 depending on day and time of year; Rapid City indoor swim center $7: Waterpark Day Pass $10 Increase $1 $11 10/25/2021 under 48 inches Waterpark After 5 pm $5 Increase $1 $6 4/15/2015 Waterpark Group Rate $9 increase $1 $10 10/25/2021 Waterpark Spectator $5 increase $1 $6 10/25/2021 fee $25 for a Private Swim Lessons 30-minute increase $1 $26 10/25/2021 lesson $30 for Belle is $48.38 for ten 30-minute lessons, five 30- Sturgis is $40 for twelve 30-minute lessons, Group Swim Lessons increase $1 $31 10/25/2021 minute and Gillette is $40 for eight 30-minute lessons lessons. Flag Football $25 increase $10 $35 8/1/2008 Summer Rec Day Fee $25 Increase $2 $27 3/26/2021 Summer Rec 1/2 day $15 Increase $1 $16 3/26/2021 Summer Rec Field Trip $35 Increase $5 $40 1/1/2023 Remove Non-Resident Center Shelter Full- Rate, (6 am-10 pm) Paid $50 $50 1/1/2015 Day in full at the time of rental Remove Non-Resident, (6 am-2 pm, or 3 pm-10 pm) Center Shelter 1/2 day $35 $35 1/1/2015 Paid in full at time of rental. Remove Non-Resident, (6 Regular park Shelters am-2 pm, or 3 pm-10 pm) $30 $30 1/1/2015 Full Paid in full at time of rental. Remove Non-Resident, (6 Regular park Shelters am-2 pm, or 3 pm-10 pm) $20 $20 1/1/2015 1/2 day Paid in full at time of rental. Remove Non-Resident, (6 Indian Springs full day $150 am-10 pm) Paid in full at $150 1/1/2015 the time of rental Remove Non-Resident, (6 am-2 pm, or 3 pm-10 pm) Indian Springs $75 $75 1/1/2015 Paid in full at time of rental. Indian Springs security $25 Remove deposit  Remove Non-Resident, (6 Bandshell full $35 $35 7/16/2015 am-10 pm) Remove Non-Resident, (6 Bandshell 1/2 day $20 $20 7/16/2015 am-2 pm, or 3 pm-10 pm) After Hours Waterpark $10 per Pool Rental 1-25 $250 no change $250 1/1/2015 People (2 hours) person After Hours Waterpark $4.5 per Pool Rental 26-100 $375 increase $75 $450 1/1/2015 People (2 hours) person Belle Fourche $235 per hour; After Hours Waterpark Mitchell $200 per hour; $3 per Pool Rental 101-200 $500 increase $100 $600 1/1/2015 Watertown $500 for 1-100 people for 2.5 People person hours, $4 per additional person; After Hours Waterpark $2 per Rental 201-400 people $625 Increase $125 $800 1/1/2015 person (2 hours) After Hours Waterpark $1.42 per Rental 401-700 (2 $750 increase $250 $1,000 1/1/2015 person hours)