HomeMy WebLinkAbout1989-01-16 - MinutesPAYETTEVILLE, ARKANSAS
PARKS AND RECREATION DEPARTMENT
P. 0. DRAWER F 72702 (501) 521-7700
PRAB
REGULAR MEETING
JANUARY 16, 1989
Chairman Bill Waite called the Regular Meeting of the Parks and
Recreation Advisory Board to order at 5:10 p.m.
Members Present:
Staff Present:
BUSINESS:
Colwell, Lashley, Lucas, Melton, Ryan, Sego,
Waite, Yarbrough
Clark, Edmonston, Metzger
Minutes of the Regular Meeting, held January 16,
1989, were approved with the following correction:
V. Wade Colwell reported that Civitan Club is
going to sponsor a "2 Mile Cross'Country Run" at
Gulley Park on Saturday, February 18.
II. Discussion of Annual PRAB City Board Meeting
Items to be discussed at upcoming meeting:
1. Historical view of Parks and Recreation
2. Facilities Report
3. Number of citizens served
4. The future of Parks and Recreation and
the economic impact
5. Park Master Plan
6. Green Space Revenues by quadrants
Chairman Bill Waite will contact Mayor Bill Martin
to set the date for the Annual PRAB Report to the
the City Board of Directors as stated in Ordinance
1526. The date of February 28, 1989 is being
considered.
Other Business
Dale Clark will be contacting Public School
Superintendent Winston Simpson and Assistant
Superintendent Charlie Russell about what indoor
facilities can be made available for recreational
purposes.
Meeting Adjourned• 6:00
Minutes Approved:
Secretary
Next Meeting: February 6, 1989
PROGRAM REPORT January 9, 1989
# of Teams Participants
Co -Ed Volleyball 16 180
Industrial League Basketball 15 200
Open League Basketball 12 150
Church League Basketball 10 160
Judo 40
Karate 25
Belly Dance 12
Aerobics 12
Adult Noon Basketball
(Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday) average each day 15-25
Adult Noon Volleyball
(Monday, Thursday) average each day 12-18
•
Youth Dance Center
**FREE Dance Day** Saturday, January 14, 1989
Jazz, tap and ballet classes begin on Monday, January 16.
Classes for ages 3 - Sr. High held at the Youth Center. The
cost for the program is $20.00 for ages 3-4 and $24.00 for
grades K -Sr. High. The instructor's name is Suzanne
Caldwell. Suzanne has taught at Little Rock School of Dance
and La Donna's School of Dance in Sheridan_, AR and been
involved with the Dance Olympus Convention.
Youth Basketball
4 - 6 grade 45 430
7th grade 13 125
B - 9 grade B 75
High School 20 175
•
October 12, 1988
Mayor Marilyn Johnson
City Board of Directors
City Hall
Fayetteville, AR'72701
Dear Honorable Mayor Johnson and Board Directors:
This letter is to express the concern of the Parks and
Recreation Advisory Board regarding apportionment of anticipated
revenues of the one -cent sales tax. For virtually every
department of the city government, passage of this tax presents
an opportunity to rectify past neglect of infrastructure and even
improve services and facilities. The notable exception to this
is the Parks and Recreation Department.' The figure given this
department for planning of capital improvements assuming passage
of this tax does not represent an anticipated step forward, but
rather a continuation of financial deprivation toward the Parks
Department. This attitude is in direct contradiction to that
expressed by the citizens of Fayetteville at every opportunity,
both by their votes and by their demonstrated support and concern
for improvements in the quality of life and environment such as
provided by parks and recreation.
Before discussing the impact of these budget planning
figures, let me briefly review the funding history for:capital
improvements to Parks and Recreation facilities. Prior to
passage of the initial one -cent sales tax, departmental capital
improvement funds were virtually non-e..istent as a city budget
item. Any funds provided for this purpose were on a case-by-case
special petition to the City Board. Even with this restriction,
several substantial developments were accomplished, such as that
of Lake Fayetteville, Walker Park South and North, Finger Park,
etc. Funds for these projects were acquired primarily from
federal agencies such as the Bureau of Outdoor Recreation (BOR),
Community Development (CD), and Heritage Conservation and
Recreation Service (HORS). The matching funds needed to acquire
many of these grants were obtained from private and corporate.
donations supplemented by special interest appropriations by the
City Board. The bulk of the funds obtained (private, corporate,
and city) played a key role in supporting proposals and providing
matching funds which made it possible to obtain the substantial
federal and state grants.
Since the early 1980's, the. funds :from federal agencies have
shrunk to virtually zero. The only remaining source is the CD
program, however, this program has stringent restrictions on
areas which qualify (must be low income) and the type of
development (must be strictly confined to low income
neighborhood). In addition, the other local social services
programs were suffering a squeeze similar to that exerted in the
Parks Department and were forced to compete even more vigorously
for the scarce remaining funds.
As far back as 1980, the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board
was pointing out to the City Board the stated intent of the
federal government to discontinue many of the grant programs.
The tax revisions of the 1980's were to enable local governments
to pick up the funding of these activities. This meant that in
the future capital improvements for Park and Recreation 'Would
have to be locally funded and budgeted. •
At or near this same time (1931), the situation with'. the
city swimming pool was approaching a crisis. Without the
expenditure of substantial funds (nb longer available through
federal grants) for replacement or repair of the Wilson Park
pool, the city would be left without an outdoor pool. This, as
well as other needs of the Park= and Recreation Department, was
used to help obtain passage of the briginal one -cent sales tax.
In this original proposal, the Parks and Recreation Department
was to receive 15% of.the additional revenue to improve
facilities and services. Obviously, the bulk of the revenue from
.this source would initially be reouired to pay for the pool
renovation and additional personnel: to handle the expanded
programs at the city pool and other; areas.
Now, let's look at what has happened to these funds which
were to be allocated to Parks and Recreation. The sales tax
funds were separately:accounted for', only for the portion: of 1982
during' which they were collected, and for 1983 and 1984. After
this, no separate accounting of these funds was provided.:
Parks Allocation of One -cent Sales Tax
(originally to be 15% of total)
Operations Capital Total Remark_
Improvements
1982 26 , 237 71,918
1983
65.299
417.297
1984 99,415 189,118
As
which time
completed,
reduced.
Although the sales
98,155 part year
482,596 full amount
or 15% of revenue
288,533 reduced amount
you can see, during the second full year of operation at
the major expenditures for the city pool were
the Parks' share of these revenues was significantly'
tax funds were no longer accounted for
after 1984, this erosion of funds for parks development May -be
seen by viewing the parks budget for capital improvements over a
period of years.
Parks Department Expenditures and
for Capital Improvements
(Actual Expenditures)
Amount
1976 $ 6,112
1977 $ 37,747
1978 $ -0-
1979 $ 100,000
1980 $ 27,063
1981 $ 90,970
1982 $ 68,031
1983 $ 454,943
1984 $ 94,776
**** Sales tax and general
1985 $ 135,373
1986 $ 152,596
1987 $ 114,875
1988 $ 37,070
Budget
Remarks
matching funds
for Walker Pk South
major repairs to city pool
sales' tax began
budget combined.
$18,310 of this is payment for
Gulley Park.
As you can see, the sales tax as originally passed would by
now be providing over $500,000 per year in capital, improvement
funds for Parks and Recreation, yet the actual funds allocated
have virtually shrunk to nothing. We are back to the old days of
• no budget, therefore no planning, thus simply reacting to each
crisis in maintenance as it occurs..,
With this history, let us now consider the planning figure
for Parks and Recreation Department capital improvements put
forth by the city administration. This figure is $500,000 for
the next five years. At first glance, this would .appear to be
$100,000 a year which itself is a very austere budget. However,
the situation is far worse than even this appears. Consider just
the following two circumstances:
1. The payments for Gulley Park acquisition which continue
for an additional nine years must be subtracted from this figure
leaving only.$408,450 total:or $81,690 per year..
2. For the past two years, the PRAB has appraised the City
Board of the impending crisis with.the_Youth Center indoor pool.
This situation is much the same as that encountered earlier with
the Wilson Park pool. If funds are not provided for renovation
there will soon be no choice but' to close this facility. This
will mean discontinuing virtually all city and school swimming
programs which involve literally hundreds of people. This item
has been the No. 1 priority of the proposed Parks budget for the
past two years and has been struck both times with the admonition
to wait until the sales tax was rededicated. If the Parks
Department attempts to accomplish renovation with, the funds
budgeted, the impact will be severe. The amount needed is
estimated at $225,000 thus even if the entire budget were