CITY COUNCIL WINN ROOM SUBCOMMITTEE STAFF REPORT
April 24, 2024 {{section.number}}{{item.number}}
CITY FACILITY SCHEDULIGN CONSIDERATIONS
RECOMMENDATION:
Receive a report on City facilities including an inventory of facilities, how facilities are used, methods of scheduling, clarification of reservation systems, hours and staffing, facility use fees and costs, and a 5th remodel option that merges the capital investment and use of the Winn Room and the Grand Room at the John D Spreckels Center, and provide direction as appropriate.
BACKGROUND:
At the December 12, 2023 City Council meeting, City staff provided data and information on the City’s internal room assets, primarily the Nautilus Room at the Community Center, the Grand Room at the Spreckels Center, and the Club Room at the Boathouse.
The City Council directed staff to provide additional information on: how the Library and Recreation Departments manage the use and scheduling of City facilities and coordinate the utilization of the Nautilus Room or the Grand Room for requests not able to be accommodated at the Winn Room; the operational hours and staffing of various City facilities that may limit uses of City rooms; the fees and charges to use various City facilities; and possibility of capital investment in the Grand Room and Winn Room to develop a 5th remodel option that merges the use of the rooms.
This report addresses these queries in furtherance of the Winn Room Subcommittee’s Spring 2024 Workplan.
ANALYSIS:
A summary of each internal room asset, including capacities, typical uses, and fee considerations is listed below in Table A.
Table A – Summary of Room Characteristics
ROOM Nautilus Room Grand Room @
JDSC
Club Room @
Boathouse
Winn Room
Managed By: Recreation Recreation Recreation Library
Size 4,950 sq. ft. 1,916 sq. ft. 1,200 sq. ft. 1,680 sq. ft.
Seating
Capacity*
446 seating
capacity
176 seating
capacity
75 seating
capacity
135 seating
capacity
Primary / Typical
Uses
Rentals / Weddings
/ Recreation
Programs
50+ Recreation
Programs /
Rentals
Youth Recreation
Programs /
Rentals
Library
Programs
and Events /
Cultural and
Educational
Events /
Nonprofit
Rentals
Fee
Considerations
Fees Charged Per
Fee Schedule
Fees Charged
Per Fee
Schedule
Fees Charged
Per Fee Schedule
Free for all
uses
*Maximum occupancy (per building code) exceeds seating capacity The seating capacity figures represent the diligent efforts of staff, informed by experience, to ascertain how many users typically fit within the rooms based upon the size of the chairs, the spacing of the chairs, the arrangements of the room, inclusion of a stage, aisle space, and screen visibility for attendees.
DETAILED ROOM ANALYSIS:
Nautilus Room at the Community Center
The Nautilus Room, often referred to as the Banquet Room, is the largest internal City room asset at 4,950 square feet. The Nautilus Room is managed by the Recreation & Golf Services Department and is typically utilized for weekend weddings and rentals (birthday parties, celebrations of life, baby showers, etc.), but is also utilized progressively more during the weekday afternoons for Recreation programs, particularly for youth. The current availability of the Nautilus Room is very limited due to pre-booked reservations, but any time not blocked off for Recreation programs, or currently booked, would be available for reservations.
It has been noted the acoustics of the Nautilus Room are not conducive to live music performances but are adequate for speaking engagements. Glass windows along the east and north wall, and a header for the moveable wall in the center of the room provide significant challenges to improve acoustics for a suitable performance space without a significant capital investment and detriment to the primary uses of the room.
Parking:
Parking at the Nautilus Room consists of shared spaces for the Community Center and City Hall, as well as street parking along Silver Strand Boulevard. During the weekdays, parking is impacted due to other uses around the Community Center and City Hall but is mostly available during the evenings and weekends. The total number of spaces in front of the Community Center equal 47 spaces and 4 handicap spaces. The total number of parking spaces in front of Glorietta Promenade and up until the entrance to City Hall is 46 spaces and 2 handicap spaces.
Library events at the Nautilus Room:
The Library moved one event to the Nautilus Room in the previous year.
Non-profit events at the Nautilus Room:
The Nautilus Room had 67 non-profit bookings between May 2022 and April 2023.
Pros as a Winn Room Alternate:
With a seating capacity of almost 450 seats, the Nautilus Room is the best internal alternative for Library events which exceed the Winn Room capacity.
Cons as a Winn Room Alternate:
The Nautilus Room is not located near the Library and there may be location confusion with Library event customers.
Logistical hurdles for Library staff staging an event at a venue away from the Library.
Grand Room at the John D Spreckels Center
The Grand Room, located at the John D Spreckels Center (JDSC) adjacent to the Library, is 1,916 square feet in size. The JDSC was constructed in 2017 and is managed by the Recreation & Golf Services Department. A JDSC Operations Plan was approved by City Council in 2016 which spells out purpose and objectives of the facility:
Program an activity and social-based center that is welcoming to the public at large, Coronado Senior Association, and Coronado Lawn Bowling Club. Provide a location that caters to the 50+ age group.
Increase the percentage of adults 50+ that use the facility. Utilize the 4,500 plus hours per year the facility is available for programming and/or renting.
To offer a self-supporting rental program.
To support the Coronado Senior Association and Coronado Lawn Bowling Association.
The Grand Room has been increasingly utilized for Recreation programming and events for adults aged 50+ and most of the booking availability for the room is nights and weekend afternoons and evenings.
It has been noted the acoustics of the Grand Room are not conducive to live music performances due to glass windows along the east and west walls, hard flooring, and a header for the moveable wall in the center of the room. To improve acoustics in the room, a significant capital investment is required, including the removal of the moveable wall and header and acoustic treatments to the walls. The removal of the moveable wall would significantly impact the operations of the multipurpose functionality of the room, including displacing several Recreation programs on a weekly basis.
Parking:
The Grand Room at the John D Spreckels Center has parking limitations as there are no dedicated parking spaces for the facility.
Library events at the Grand Room:
The Library moved one event to the Grand Room the previous year.
Non-profit events at the Grand Room:
The JDSC Grand Room had 5 non-profit bookings between May 2022 and April 2023.
Pros as a Winn Room Alternate:
The Grand Room is the most convenient City location to relocate a Library event due to the proximity of the JDSC to the Library.
The Grand Room has a seating capacity of 176, providing a slightly larger space for hosting events (+41 seats).
Cons as a Winn Room Alternate:
The Grand Room’s seating capacity of 176 does not provide significant additional space to accommodate Library programs or events that cannot be accommodated in the Winn Room due to capacity.
There are only 140 chairs available at the Grand Room, requiring additional chairs to be transported to the center to achieve the capacity.
Several Recreation programs in the Grand Room routinely have over 50 attendees, or are partnership programs with other groups, such as the Coronado Senior Association or Sharp Hospital. Displacing attendees who have signed up for a program at a specific facility for a Library event may cause apprehension in the future for participants to register for the programs.
The Grand Room has a room divider that is used to separate the Grand Room into two smaller rooms. The room divider significantly reduces the room’s acoustic quality and was recommended for removal in a capital improvement project if the objective is to improve the acoustic performance to host a greater range of events. However, the room divider is critical to the successful operation of the Center. Often, incompatible uses need to be scheduled in the Grand Room, and the room divider provides a physical separation to allow both uses to take place simultaneously. Accordingly, the room acoustics cannot be improved as recommended without reducing functionality and use.
Club Room at the Boathouse
The Club Room is a 1,200 square foot venue with unrivaled views of Glorietta Bay. The Club Room is managed by the Recreation & Golf Services Department and serves as the primary location for summer camps, programming for young adults with disabilities, and some smaller youth Recreation programs. The Club Room availability during the summer season is limited to weekends only, but during other seasons, is often available several weekdays and evenings, along with weekends. The current availability of the Club Room is limited due to pre-booked reservations, but any time not blocked off for Recreation programs, or currently booked, would be available for reservations.
The acoustics of the Club Room have not been evaluated, but due to its materials that are similar to the Grand Room such as hard vinyl tile flooring and a glass wall, musical performances are likely to not achieve high quality sound.
Parking:
The Club Room has 15 dedicated parking spaces, as well as additional parking along Glorietta Bay Park and street parking along Silver Strand Blvd.
Library use at the Club Room:
No Library events were moved to the Club Room in the previous year.
Non-profit events at the Club Room:
The Club Room had 5 non-profit bookings between May 2022 and April 2023.
Pros as a Winn Room Alternate:
Dedicated parking spaces allow participants at smaller events not to search for parking.
Cons as a Winn Room Alternate:
Smaller than the Winn Room, the Club Room has a seating capacity of only 75 seats, which does not provide enough additional space to accommodate Library programs or events that cannot be accommodated in the Winn Room due to capacity. The Club Room is not located near the Library and there may be location confusion with Library event customers.
Winn Room at the Library
The Winn Room at the Library is 1,680 square feet in size, is managed by the Library Department and is highly utilized by many community organizations, including the Library, for events and programs.
Parking:
The Library has the same parking limitations as the John D Spreckels Center with no dedicated parking spaces for the facility.
Non-Profit events:
The Winn Room had 69 non-profit bookings between May 2022 and April 2023. No non-profit events were relocated due to size considerations. The Library did not receive any non-profit requests that were anticipated to be too large for the Winn Room.
The Library has not received any correspondence concerning non-profit events that did not book the Winn Room due to size constraints.
There have been anecdotal reports that members of the community using the online booking system for the Library have not been able to schedule their non-profit event at the time they want.
Pros of Winn Room:
The Winn Room is in the Library and the natural location for Library events. Programs that the Library schedules can be accommodated in the number of Library spaces available, which include the Winn Room, Ruby Room, and Historic Spreckels Reading Room.
All events relocated to an outside venue have been relocated due to seating capacity or acoustic considerations, as opposed to scheduling considerations.
Cons of Winn Room:
Outdated space with poor condition of the flooring, wiring, A/V, and acoustics. Poor visibility due to the low ceiling height.
Between May 2022 and April 2023, 15 events held in the Winn Room were at capacity including 4 events that were standing room only.
Staff have reported it is not uncommon for participants to leave or not to enter signature events due to crowding.
Between May 2022 and April 2023, 9 events were relocated to the Library grass lawn for seating capacity reasons (typically larger children’s events or musical groups where the performers would occupy a lot of the available seating capacity in the Winn Room). Some events have historically been relocated to the Library lobby for acoustics reasons. Seating capacity for greater than 200 is a recognized regional threshold to accommodate higher profile library events. With a seating capacity of 135 at the Winn Room, several events each year must be relocated to an alternate location offsite, listed below in Table B.
Table B - Larger Events Moved Offsite from Winn Room 5/2022 – December 2023 Event Date Location Attendance Hours
Taylor Baldwin Kiland &
Judy Silverstein Gray 8/2/2023 CoSA 140 4
Jack Gray 5/9/2023 Grand Room 142 3
Shipli Gowda 10/8/2023 CoSA 150 4
Gill Sotu 10/8/2022 CoSA 150 4
Lisa See 6/8/2023 Nautilus Room 155 3
Neal Allen 12/13/2022 CoSA 208 4
Geena Davis 11/12/2022 Hotel Del Coronado 220 4
Bonnie Garmus 2/24/2023 CoSA 520 4
Kristin Hannah 3/15/2023 CoSA 570 4
Admiral McRaven 8/2/2023 CoSA 570 4
Michael Connelly 11/8/2023 CoSA 570 4
Coronado School of the Arts (CoSA)
While this is a report on internal City facilities, it is worth noting that the first priority for Library staff when looking for an outside venue is to check the availability of CoSA. The City of Coronado and Coronado Unified School District have a Joint Use Agreement that provides the City access to the CoSA auditorium. Of the eleven events moved offsite listed in Table B, eight were at CoSA, one at the Nautilus Room, and one at the Grand Room. Requests to use CoSA are made by staff using the school’s online booking software, Facilitron.
Pros as Winn Room Alternate:
Geographic proximity next door to the Library.
Good acoustics and visibility properties.
Fixed seating for minimal set up considerations.
Seating capacity up to 570.
Cons as Winn Room Alternate:
Not controlled by City of Coronado.
The parameters for use of CoSA need to be more well-defined in the Joint Use Agreement. Coronado School District programs take priority over all use. School policy or personnel subject to change and therefore lack of consistency.
COORDINATION OF ROOMS/SCHEDULING SOFTWARE:
The next area of consideration is the Recreation & Golf Services and Library Departments facility reservation systems and coordination and if improvements are possible.
The mission of the Coronado Public Library is to meet the informational, recreational, and cultural needs of the community and to actively promote reading, life-long learning, and the pursuit of knowledge.
The mission of the Coronado Recreation & Golf Services Department is to promote community, health, and safety while building a culture of excellence.
Both departments seek to develop the holistic well-being of individuals in the community, yet the programs and strategies employed by each department are unique. The Library seeks to provide program offerings which tend to be more educational, along with nonprofit community gatherings and meeting space typically open to the public, whereas Recreation seeks to provide more fitness, enrichment, and social opportunities, along with facility use geared towards exclusive use.
The Recreation & Golf Services Department launched a new registration and reservation software program within the previous year called CivicRec, replacing the previous system, PerfectMind, which was widely criticized as a confusing and complicated system. CivicRec is an enterprise system for the Recreation & Golf Services Department and allows the department to manage all user accounts, track accounting for all user transactions, process point of sale transactions, provide an online catalog of Recreation program offerings including registration options, and allow for facility management, including facility reservations. The public-facing calendar module of the CivicRec program shows availability for facilities but does not show the details of any bookings.
For a member of the public or nonprofit organization to reserve a Recreation facility, they must first create an account on CivicRec to submit a request on the system for the specific room, date, and time. To search availability, an account is not required. The reservation request must be accompanied by a $25 application fee. Once the reservation is submitted online, a staff member of the Recreation & Golf Services Department will respond to the inquiry within 1 business day to begin discussions on details and additional potential requirements needed for the reservation, including insurance and security deposits.
Residents and Library staff booking any library space, including the Winn Room, use a software known as Library Market. No fee is required to make a reservation. Library Market has the ability to validate for library cardholders and prefill patron information during program registration. It allows for event sign up, automatically emails reminders to participants, maintains and automatically manages a waitlist, ensuring reliable communication with customers while reducing staff time. Room set up options and available equipment can be selected by the customer online.
Library Market offers integrated room and time management tools for event planning for both staff and public and is used as a promotional tool for events.
CivicRec and Library Market are meeting the needs of their respective departments and there are no plans for change based upon operational need.
There are very few occasions per year on which an event would not be able to be accommodated at the facility originally requested. Known instances (two) where events were moved into different facilities are Library events that were too large to fit into the Winn Room. Accordingly, there have been very few examples of cross-departmental coordination to accommodate an event.
With the booking options for both Recreation and Library rooms available online, staff from either department can check availability online. If additional questions arise, or if the booking needs to be made imminently, then staff from one department will contact an appropriate staff member from the other department for clarification or to place an administrative hold. The examples involved the Library Director coordinating requests with the Director of Recreation & Golf Services Department; however, line-level staff can be trained and empowered to work collaboratively to accommodate these requests.
FACILITY HOURS AND STAFFING:
The Coronado Public Library is currently open to the public during the following hours:
Monday – Thursday: 9:30 a.m. – 9:00 p.m.
Friday: 9:30 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.
Saturday: 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.
Sunday: 1:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.
The Coronado Community Center (location of Nautilus Room) is currently open to the public during the following hours:
Monday – Friday: 7:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m.
Saturday: 7:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Sunday: 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
The John D Spreckels Center (location of Grand Room) is currently open to the public during the following hours:
Monday – Thursday: 8:30 a.m. – 7:00 p.m.
Friday: 8:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Saturday: 9:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
Sunday: CLOSED
The Club Room at the Boathouse is not open as a drop-in facility, therefore only open when programmed for Recreation activities or when reserved.
The hours of operation for the Recreation facilities do not restrict use; however, any use outside of normal hours of operation will require the scheduling of staff, which include staffing charges for the user. Additionally, to provide exceptional customer service, Recreation facility fees are inclusive of staffing to help facilitate the set-up and successful operation of the rental.
The City Council inquired if the City should consider expanding hours of facilities and adding staff support to provide more options for reservable space. As all reservation requests for City facilities have been accommodated, and at the facilities initially requested, staff do not find there is a demonstrated needs for an increase in facility hours and staffing. There has been limited anecdotal information that some reserving parties were not able to reserve the date and time wished for, but with a first-come, first-serve reservation system, full availability cannot be guaranteed, and all reservation requests were accommodated on other dates/times.
FEE POLICIES:
Recreation
The City Council-approved Recreation Services Facility Use Fees and Policies document (attached) provides definitions of user classifications, regulations and requirements of facility use, and specific fees for each facility/classification in the Recreation & Golf Services Department inventory.
Reservation lead times are more accessible for residents and most nonprofit organizations at 24 months, opposed to 14 months for non-resident and commercial users.
Total non-profit revenue for the Recreation and Golf Services Department during the survey period was $15,424.
All City of Coronado events and programs, including Library-sponsored events, have no fees associated with the use; however, if any event requires staffing after normal hours of operation, the additional staff time will be noted for future reference to account for the true cost of providing the service to the community.
Coronado special interest groups with at least 75% Coronado members may use the Club Room Classroom, the Grand Room, the Abalone Room, or the Sand Dollar Room at no charge, with a limit of 4 uses per year. Additional conditions include a 3-hour maximum rental, use limited to Mondays – Thursdays, and a clear identification of public benefit. This benefit does not apply to the Nautilus Room.
The Recreation & Golf Services Department is currently drafting a revision of the Facility Use Fees and Policies document for clarity, consistency, and fairness to be presented to City Council in Summer 2024.
Library
The Coronado Public Library was established under the California Education Code, which states under section 18960: “Every library established pursuant to this chapter shall be forever free to the inhabitants and nonresident taxpayers of the municipality”.
Library and library sponsored events are free services as part of the organization’s commitment to free access to information and ideas for all users. Free use for all other eligible users of the room is a longstanding Library Board policy for the Winn Room. Policy 12 of the Library Board of Trustees states: “The Library does not charge a fee for use of the Winn Room”.
Library Board policy also states that the room may not be used except for non-profit community benefit uses.
FINDINGS:
Upon evaluation of all aspects of the City facilities, including fee considerations, availability, current primary uses, and documented needs, staff developed key findings which are summarized below.
Winn Room Alternates
CoSA is recommended as the best alternate space for Library events that are expected to exceed Winn Room capacity. With a capacity of 570, auditorium style seating, a performance-oriented acoustic environment and close proximity to the Library, CoSA is considered the first priority for alternate space.
Due to the many positive benefits of utilizing CoSA as the first priority for an alternate facility for signature Library events, the City could consider a refinement of the Joint Use Agreement with Coronado Unified School District to provide more reliable access and streamlined booking of the facility.
The Nautilus Room is the best internal alternate to the Winn Room and is most suited for speaker, not musical performance, events.
The Club Room does not provide enough seating to be an alternate facility for the Winn Room and should not be considered as a viable option.
5 th Remodel Option (Grand Room / Winn Room Merged Uses) The Grand Room has acoustical limitations, and the space is used primarily as a multipurpose room. Any treatments to improve the acoustics of the room, outside of minor audio and visual equipment upgrades, would require material changes to the functionality of the room. The room divider has been noted to cause negative audio and visual impacts for performances or film screenings. The room divider is vital to the successful operations of the room as a multipurpose space.
Project costs for improving the Grand Room Audio/Visual equipment and including motorized blackout shades are estimated at $1.72 million, which do not include the removal of the moveable wall and divider. The benefits gained from Grand Room upgrades include slightly improved experience over the Winn Room for sightlines and a marginal gain in seating over the Winn Room. The drawbacks of investing in the Grand Room Audio/Visual equipment are there are no additional acoustic improvements, it does not address the Winn Room deferred issues, the room still does not meet a seating capacity threshold of 200.
Given the limited amount of seating capacity gained and acoustical challenges unless the Grand Room functionality is modified with detrimental impacts, staff would not recommend the 5th remodel option of merging the uses of the two rooms.
Nonprofit Organizations Accommodated
There are no documented instances of nonprofit organization reservation requests not being accommodated due to size or clarity in availability for either the Winn Room or Recreation facilities.
Library and Recreation Facility Scheduling Software
Recreation and the Library have unique missions and fee directives for their facilities. Each department’s reservation platform is tailored for their mission and have different functionality and scale. Both reservation systems have transparent portals that allow for online viewing of facility availability.
Staff considered whether a merger of reservation systems was warranted. Given the widely varying demands for functionality, the marginal benefit of having one reservation system was vastly outweighed by the cost, logistics and time entailed in merging. At this time, moving to a single platform is not warranted.
To facilitate additional transparency and ease of access, however, the City could create a reservation landing page on the City’s website to direct any potential requester for facility reservations to Recreation facilities and Library facilities.
Library and Recreation Facility Coordination
The current Council-authorized Fee Policy for Recreation facilities allows for Library events, as City-sponsored events, to utilize Recreation facilities at no cost. In the two instances where a reservation moved from one department’s facility to the other (library events moved to Nautilus and Grand Rooms), Library and Recreation staff effectively managed that transition with minimal effort. Additional training for line-level staff will continue to provide successful coordination. No system or process changes are recommended.
Facility Hours and Staffing
All reservation requests for City facilities have been accommodated, and at the facilities initially requested.
There have been anecdotal reports that members of the community using the online booking system for the Library have not been able to schedule their non-profit event at the time they want.
Recreation allows rental of its facilities outside of normal operating hours. The reserving entities pays for staff presence during the event.
The Library has accommodated some reservations slightly before or after operating hours so long as staff are present in the building.
Staff do not find there is significant and ongoing demand for additional access to facilities that would necessitate increasing hours and staffing.
ATTACHMENTS:
1. Recreation Services Facility Use Fees and Policies