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Home My WebLink About2015/12/08 Written Communications wri� Camw� pue��c, Corr�m.e�E. CITY OF CHULA VISTA (��WOI�e� FACT SHEET f Pr000sed Hourlv F,e!d Rental Fees �� C H U L A V I S T A PROS Con;urt�ng, inc. ha> reco�nmended that the Chula Vista City Counnl authorize �mplementation of fee increases for use of athletic fields. Overview Historically, municipalities have not charged commurn[y youth sports organitations or resident groups for use of athletic fields. In the past, most cities had sufficient fields to accommodate user groups and maintenance budgets were capable of handling the level of field use. However, youth sports participation levels �ontinue to grow at a rapid rate and are out growing the amount of fields availabie in most mmmunities. One of the main reasons for this is that youth sports organizations now operate year-round instead of seasonally. Addi[ionally, many children are now playing two or [hree sports simultaneously ins[ead of one sport per season. The increasing popularity of competitive sports leagues and dub teams are also a contributing factor to this growth. The wnsequence of this growth is increased maintenance and administrative costs incurred by the Ciry of Chula Vista,lower field quality due to over use and limited rest well as a perceived deficit of field availability Who are utilizing the fields and how often are the fields used curzently? Currently, all Ciry fields are available [o be rented on a f�rst mme. firs[ served basis. However, field availabiliry has become a major Issue due to the majonry (over 90%) of field rentals be�ng allocated to the 22 d�fferent members of the Youth Sports Council (YSC). Wi[h the current practice of charging per team, instead of charging for use, many flelds are not utilized to their fullest extent and availabiliry is limited for other user groups- In addition, due to the scarciry of available fields, the YSC has wntinued a moratorium on membership for many years. How much dces the Ciry spend a year on park maintenance? The Ciry of Chula Vista maintains 56 park facilities, 35 of wh¢h mdude sports fields. There are a total of 64 sports fields avalable, of whlch 58 sports flelds (77 if counting mul[i-purpose/ballfield ove�lays) are available to be allocated by the Youth SDOrts Councd organizations. The annual maintenance cost for the park facilities that �ndude sports felds at current leveis of service is 52,d73,786.Current pradices are under rev�ew and sub�e�t to change. What is tt�e cunent policy for charging fees for field use? Field(ful1) $25 per hour Field(partiap 51250 per hour Field(VSC�' $11 per team per allocation Field(YSq 50.10 per how(excluding supplemental maintenante) Field(YSq 50.61 per hour(including supplemental main[enance) field Lights SIS per hour Field PreD 560 Per field 'YSC also pays$Il per partinpant per albcat�on for supo!eme�ta fe'd ma�nteaa^ce �sub�ect to a 20-�-de^a?o^ a^a!eT�e-•�c- scholarship recipients) What is the proposed policy for charging fees for feld use? Field(full-non-residen[) $36 per hou' Field(full-resident/non-profrt� $27 per no��..• Field(YSC) 52.50 per tie�• Field Lights 515 per hou� Field Pre0 575 per fle c How were different fee structures evaluated? There are generally two philosophies used �y mun�opal;t��es for adoress ng f�e d .,>e fees, nou��, �ers a�d oc� u�t cr participaUOn (participant/per team)fees. Hourly Fees Many cities charge hourly ren[al fees for use of athletic facili[ies. This type of fee implementation has several benefits. The most obvious is [hat it genera[es revenue to offset related expenses. Another benefit is that it has a posi[ive impact on the field allocation process. Under this system, user groups generally request fewer flelds for shorter periods of time and maximize their field use. This enables field space to become available for other user groups or can be designated as valuable time for rest and renovation of[he turf. An addi[ional 6enefit is that groups are charged direcUy for what they use and this is viewed as a fair system of implementing fees. The main drawback for[his rype of fee system is [hat it is time consuming for staff to administer. Per Unit of Participation (Participant/Per Team1 Fees In lieu of hourly fees, a few ci[ies are charging a per participant fee or per[eam fee for youth sports organiza[ions. Under this rype of fee struc[ure,youth groups are charged a flat rate per participant or per team for a duration of[ime.The benefit of this system is [hat is very easy to administer. The main disadvantage of this system is that it does not address the problem of groups"over-requesting"field space and no[utilizing fields[o their potential. When will the new fees go into effect7 PROS Consulting, Inc. has recommended that the proposed fees be implemented starting the nex[fiscal year i.e.luly 1°`, 2016. This date was set to give [he user groups enough [ime to budget for the fees and adjust their registra[ion fees, as necessary, and allow City staff ro ensure effective,collaborative implementa[ion. Do the proposed fees recover the cit�s cost to maintain the parks7 Youth Sports Council field use and administra[ive support is dassified as an "ImportanY' program to[he City of Chula Vista, in line with the Recreation Department's you[h spor[s leagues (indoor soccer, basketball; etc.) 7he "Important" classification phibsophy is defined as a service in which individuals who participate benefi[ [he mos[ but other community members of also benefit in some way.Additionally, ft also balances open access to all users/limited access to spedfic users. Remmmended and best practice cost recovery ranges for the "Important" dassification are be[ween 31% - 70%. Currently, the cost recovery percentage of [he Youth Sports Council is 8%. With the proposed fee increases, the cost recovery percentage will be 33% which is still on the lowes[end of[he spectrum but will ensure we move in Ihe right direction. The City of Chula Vista maintains athle[ic fields at a standard level of care. Implementing[he proposed fees will assist the Ciry in keeping the athle[ic fields at [his current maintenance standard. What did the city do to inform and solicit input from the member organizations? In June 2011, the Recreation Department recommended fee increases [0 510 per hour for YSC use. City Coun[il approved[he inuease, but later reversed the fee increase and recommended more communiry input prior to any fee increases. The Recreation Department held two community meetings on Oc[ober 22, 2014 and on September 28, 2015 at Norman Park Senior Center (4:00-530pm) and Montevalle Community Cen[er (6:00-7:30pm) to solicit inpu[, share findings and facilitate discussion on [he cost recovery study. This was supplemented with an online survey administered for over 2 months through wwwsurvevmonkey.com and sent out[hroughout the City. Prin[ed copies in English and Spanish were also made available at all the reaeation facilities and the Senior Cen[er. Over 1,200 respondents induding 1,000+ residents participated in[he survey which focused on all levels of pricing s[rategies and philosophies[hat drove Ihe fees and charges recommendations seen here. The meetings were well attended on both occasions but [here were no representatives from any of the YSC organiza[ions at the second set of inee[ings held in September 2015. What are the benefits to implementing field use fees? The main reason for implementing fees is to assist the City in remvering a percen[age of the cost to maintain the athletic fields. In addition, because the fields are booked nearly [o capacity solely for YSC organizations, residents and local organizations have limited available capaciry to reserve a field for family sof[ball games, family reunion sporting activities, neighborhood flag football games or company pirnia/softball games. The Recreation Department receives numerous requests to hold these types of activities but rarely can accommodate them. Additionally,even[hough the fields are booked nearly to capacity by the YSC user groups,they are not always used ro capacity. The Recreation Department routinely receives calls from residents and other youth sports groups who are told [here are no available fields, yet repeatedly find fields not being used as indicated. By changing [o an hourly fee based polity, [he city is likely to see many YSC organizations modify their requests to reflect ezactly what they need thus making more fields available for other users.