Consent Item 4e
STAFF REPORT
City Council Consent Item
DATE: October 17, 2022
TO: Honorable Mayor and Council Members
FROM: Cameron Mull, Director of Parks & Recreation
THROUGH: Merritt Perry, City Manager
SUBJECT: Parks & Recreation Monthly Report for September 2022 STAFF RECOMMENDATION:
Receive report as an informational item.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
Director’s Report
The regularly scheduled Rohner Community Recreation and Park District (RCRPD) monthly meeting was cancelled on 9/7 due to a lack of agenda items, as LACO & Associates needed additional time to review financial assumptions associated with a future aquatic facility in order to develop calculations for a Benefit Assessment project. A mandatory bid meeting was held with contractors on 9/21 for the Rohner Park Basketball Courts Improvement Project, with bids opening on 9/22 and closing on 10/6. This project will be funded predominantly by Measure E and will replace the existing court with two newly paved, fenced-in courts with new posts & backboards, and may include additional surrounding park features and amenities, depending on funding limits. The project is projected to be completed by April 2023, weather permitting.
Parks & Facility Maintenance
The main Rohner Park bathrooms rear exterior was repainted due to graffiti A door lock was repaired at Newburg Park’s Hardball #2 cook shack Two diaper-changing stations (donated by the Auto Xpo Board) were installed in the Firemen’s Pavilion bathrooms to prepare for the new playgroup program Plexiglass and light repairs were completed in the Rohner Park women’s bathroom due to vandalism with a BB gun
The Newburg Park men’s bathroom paper towel dispenser was repaired due to vandalism Set-up and breakdown was completed for a Gymkhana event in the Rodeo grounds on 9/10 Set-up and breakdown was completed for the Wild Souls Ranch Cider Fest on 9/17 A soap dispenser was replaced in the Rohner Parks men’s bathroom due to vandalism Tree work was completed on a hazardous Cypress tree in Newburg Park Graffiti was removed at the fish viewing gazebo at the River Lodge Graffiti was painted over at the Rodeo restrooms
Consent Item 4e
Ten new LED Exit sign lights were installed at the River Lodge to provide better lighting for safety and in case of a power outage
Four eight-foot picnic tables were repainted
The Fortuna Boulevard median curb edges, cracks, seams, valve boxes, and tree bases were all sprayed with herbicide to control vegetation growth Four bells were installed on the Firemen’s Pavilion doors, for safety as to create a sound maker for the new playgroup to keep children safe
Various minor installations were made in the Firemen’s Pavilion bar area for the Apple Harvest special skate night on 10/1
Irrigation repairs were completed on the 14th and Main St. garden bed corner Set-up and prep work was completed in the Rodeo grounds by Parks and General Services for the District 2 High School Rodeo event held on 10/1-10/2 The deep pit BBQ’s in Rohner Park were prepped for the 4-H Lamb BBQ held on 10/2 Set-up was performed on Main St. and at Clendenen’s Cider Work for the Apple Harvest event on 10/1
Depot Museum
September’s visitor total at the Fortuna Depot Museum was 169 people. This is close to some of our September totals in pre-COVID years. Recent years’ September visitation totals were: 2021:
144, 2020: 76, 2019: 186, 2018: 243, 2017: 261, 2016: 179, 2015: 203, 2014: 206, 2013: 190, 2012: 325. In September 2022, we welcomed California visitors from Antioch, Dinsmore, Eureka, Fairfield, Ferndale, Fortuna, Garberville, Hilmar, Loleta, McKinleyville, Mount Shasta, Napa, Novato, Oroville, Petaluma, Redway, Rio Dell, Riverbank, San Francisco, San Jacinto, San Leandro, Santa Cruz, Santa Rosa, Scotia and Vacaville. We also welcomed out-of-state visitors from Oregon, Utah and Virginia, as well as a visitor from Toronto, Canada.
Fortuna Transit
Passengers on the Fortuna Transit Bus totaled 691 trips during the month of September 2022. The lift was used for non-wheelchair riders 72 times and 35 times for wheelchair trips. The Fortuna Transit had five new riders during the month of September. The Eureka medical trips on Tuesdays have been going well averaging around three to five riders. Hops in Humboldt rented Fortuna Transit for their event for a route within Fortuna City limits.
September
2021
September
2022
YTD ~ July 2021 – June
2022
YTD ~ July 2022
– June 2023
# of passengers 699 691 7713 2104
Total Miles 2376 2143 24885 6529
Service Miles 2187 1987 22710 6026
Hours Worked 317 269.75 3183.5 775.25
Service Hours
Worked 272.75 232.25 2671 753
Consent Item 4e
Sports, Classes and Facility Rentals
Adult league coed softball ended in September, we had ten teams playing Monday and Wednesday nights at Newburg Park. Eel River Youth Soccer, Fortuna High Soccer and Mad River Girls Fast Pitch continue using Newburg Park fields and Little League continues in Rohner Park fields with Fall Ball. Results Fit Camp continues holding classes in the Pavilion, Rohner Rec Hall was rented seven times during the month of September and the picnic area was rented eight times. During September, we also hosted a weekend long Gymkhana event, Wild Souls Cider Festival, and a College of the Redwoods Cross Country Event in Rohner Park.
Recreation Programs
Drop-in volleyball on Sunday evenings continued throughout September, with attendance ranging from 17-24 players per night. Drop-in basketball is scheduled to resume on Thursday October 6th.
A new playgroup for kids’ ages 0-5 and their caregivers opened on Thursday September 29th, in partnership with First 5 Humboldt, with 12 children plus their caregivers in attendance. The playgroups is open every Thursday and Sunday from 10:30am – 1:00pm.
Planning and coordination on our second annual Halloween event – the Rohner Park Spook-AThon – began in September, with donor, sponsor, vendor, and volunteer outreach as well as games and activity booths being planned for the event.
Skating
The Fortuna Skating Rink was open for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday Public Skates all month long. Adult Night continued as an ongoing event the last Saturday skate night of the month. Over the course of the month the skating rink hosted eight private parties with 337 attendees, and in addition to the 588 skaters that attended public skate, hosted an overall total of 925 skaters in the month of September (over triple the amount from August).
Planning for two new special skate events also took place in September. A special Apple Harvestthemed skate event was planned for Saturday October 1st, and a Stranger Things-inspired skate & trivia night scheduled to take place on Saturday October 15th.
Community Service
The Parks & Recreation Department had five people signed up to perform Community Service, and workers completed 102.75 hours throughout the months of September. The Community Service Work Program is a big part of the parks’ success. The workers help with trash pickup and various basic maintenance projects in Rohner and Newburg Parks, the River Lodge, and other Parks-maintained spaces throughout the City. Since the program started in 1997, there have been 53,085 service hours completed in the throughout the City of Fortuna.
RECOMMENDED COUNCIL ACTION:
Receive Parks & Recreation Department Monthly Report. Consent Agenda vote.