BACKGROUND:
The residents of Cathedral City enjoy access to nine (9) community parks that include various recreational facilities including soccer/baseball/softball fields, volleyball/basketball courts, skate park, tot play lots, adult fitness equipment, water play areas, open space areas, picnic gazebos, walking paths, dog parks, restrooms and concession stands. The addition of more soccer fields and futsol fields will be provided when the Dream Homes Park is completed.
The above facilities offer opportunities for exercise and enjoyment available to all. The benefits provided for social interaction, personal growth, a connection to the natural environment, and wellness are invaluable.
In an excerpt from the May 30, 2023 Uken Report, as written by Cindy Uken:
“In its now-adopted biennial budget, the City Council allocated $380,000 for city parks in fiscal year 2023-2024, and another $590,000 thousand in fiscal year 2024-2025. City parks are a wise investment.
City parks play a vital role in the social, economic, and physical well-being of America’s cities and their residents, according to City Parks Alliance. Nearly 80% of the American population lives in urban areas. As cities continue to grow, planners, elected officials, and community advocates are taking a fresh look at parks and their potential to help address critical urban infrastructure and public health issues.
City parks provide access to recreational opportunities, increase property values, spur local economies, improve safety, and mitigate stormwater runoff and other environmental threats.
Parks are now recognized as powerful tools for urban communities and local economies to help drive more vibrant and equitable cities.
•City parks encourage active lifestyles and reduce health costs.
Physical activity can reduce or prevent many physical and mental health problems.
Parks also reduce the costs of healthcare: maintaining a healthy weight saves $1,500 per person in healthcare costs per year.
•City parks strengthen local economies and create job opportunities.
Parks attract residents and businesses, increase revenue for cities, spur private investment, and increase job opportunities.
•City parks increase community engagement and reduce crime.
Planning and programming that engages residents in the design and of their local parks fosters a sense of community and helps ensure that the parks reflect the needs of the community.
The biennial budget addresses the priorities of the community while generating revenues that meet city expenditures. It also focuses on the City’s newly published Five-Year Strategic Plan, which was approved April 13, ….”
DISCUSSION:
As a result of the City’s past and future year investments in the Parks, there have been several organized sports organizations requesting long term use of the Dennis Keat Soccer Park fields and the baseball fields at Ocotillo, Panorama and Century Park.
The City initiated this process years back with an agreement for AYSO to have use of a majority of the soccer fields at Dennis Keat Park reserved for AYSO’s use during their specified season. The agreement with AYSO also had provisions for participation in the cost of watering the fields, electrical costs to power the lights and specifics regarding “sweat equity” to maintain/clean the bathrooms and provide light maintenance of the irrigation system that waters the fields.
The agreement with AYSO, proves challenging in several areas, but specifically to this Staff Report, took a significant amount of Staff and Attorney time and resources to negotiate, develop and modify the agreement.
This past year we have had other organized sports organizations requesting similar reservations and/or agreements to utilize the remaining (unreserved fields) at Dennis Keat Park. These include youth and adult flag and tackle football groups. At other parks (Ocotillo, Panorama and Century), Xtreme Baseball and Softball has requested season long reservations for the respective baseball/fields at these locations, including the use of the existing concession stands.
As a result of these requests, Staff looked at the process other Coachella Valley Cities use to streamline the park reservation process. Staff also expanded the investigation to Cities outside the Coachella Valley. A spreadsheet of the findings is attached.
Key areas of focus for Staff as shown on the spreadsheet are:
•Payment for the use of the facilities
•The Forms used for the reservations (and either paper or online) •The Insurance requirements
•The overall Application Process
•Other specifics for the application process that provided additional information.
Since there can be a number of reservations for various park facilities, e.g., soccer, basketball, volleyball courts, etc., (in this initial stage), Staff is specifically targeting the ability to accommodate the organization(s) requesting the use of the baseball/softball fields at Ocotillo, Panorama and Century Parks.
Staff is looking at options for streamlining the application process to make it easier for organized baseball/softball sports groups to make long term and seasonal reservations for the available City baseball/softball fields. Staff’s initial draft application and fees are attached to this report. An additional Fees, Charges and Policy Manual is also under development.
Once this application process is vetted (additional Staff presentations) and receives the support of the City Council, Staff will expand the application process to other City park’s facilities for long term and short-term use.
Note: The City already has a process in place to rent the gazebo/picnic areas at Panorama, Century and Ocotillo Parks, thus the short-term reservations for other park amenities can also be incorporated.
In conjunction with the streamlining effort as outlined above, the management of both the long-term and short-term reservation process internally is also under review. This includes how and what departments/divisions will be providing the management and approvals.
FIVE-YEAR STRATEGIC PLAN:
GOAL B: COMMUNITY INVESTMENT
Objective: Cathedral City roads, gateways, public spaces, and other city infrastructure are well planned, designed, constructed, and maintained.
GOAL C: FISCAL STABILITY AND SUSTAINABILITY
Objective: Cathedral City has economically prospered by facilitating the investment of private dollars in high quality development which benefits the community. We remain financially solvent by instituting prudent fiscal policies and transparent financial practices.
GOAL D: INNOVATION
Objective: Cathedral City continually focusses on improving service delivery and customer experiences by successfully leveraging technology and creative initiatives to improve public services, public safety, and stimulate economic growth.
FISCAL IMPACT:
No fiscal impact at this time for this item.