Consent Item 4e
STAFF REPORT
City Council Consent Item
DATE: August 7, 2023
TO: Honorable Mayor and Council Members
FROM: Cameron Mull, Director of Parks & Recreation
THROUGH: Merritt Perry, City Manager
SUBJECT: Parks & Recreation Monthly Report for June 2023 STAFF RECOMMENDATION:
Receive report as an informational item.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
Director’s Report
The Rohner Park basketball court project continued in June. Throughout the month, Humboldt Fence Co. installed the 8-foot vinyl-coated chain-link fencing & gates around the perimeter. Following this, Mercer-Fraser installed the new backboards & posts, and the concrete picnic area planters were filled with soil. A painted acrylic surfacing (with striping) will be the final steps, with an anticipated project completion in late July. Staff has added pickle ball striping on each of the courts to the contract so that they can be used for basketball or pickle ball.
The Rohner Community Recreation and Park District (RCRPD) meeting occurred on 6/7.
A USDA pre-application for a possible loan to fund the construction of a future aquatic center was submitted by City staff in June. If approved by the USDA, the RCRPD will move forward with a grant application with the USDA for the required loan amount needed to construct the aquatic center Once these final amounts/ costs are determined, an engineer’s report will calculate the annual amount per parcel in the RCRPD boundary through a Benefit Assessment. City staff will continue to act as staff to the district until a final decision has been made on the aquatic facility project.
Parks & Facility Maintenance (non-routine items)
All irrigation bulbs on Main St. were programmed to water the garden beds for the season A damaged ash tree was removed from Newburg Park
Two swings were replaced at Newburg Park’s playground Prep and breakdown occurred for the Art & Wine event in Rohner Park on June 11th Graffiti was removed from the Rohner Park main entry sign New door handles & locks were installed at the Rohner Park cook shack Adult softball league infields prep Monday – Thursday started in June Toilet repairs were completed in the Rohner Park women’s restroom Consent Item 4e
Contractor fencing was installed around the Rohner Rec Hall to keep the Kiddie Kampers safe for the summer
Weed pulling was performed at the LID basins at City Hall, the 11th St. public parking lot, the River Lodge, and the strip of landscaping between Senestraro St. & PG&E along Newburg Road
The Bocce Ball court area in Rohner Park had weed abatement performed in the decomposed granite surfacing for the season
Irrigation was troubleshot and programmed on some of the north median islands on Fortuna Blvd.
Repairs were completed in the Rodeo grounds men’s restroom toilet Prep work and staging of items was completed for the 3rd of July Fireworks Festival in Newburg Park
Depot Museum
June’s visitation total at the Fortuna Depot Museum was 272 people. This is consistent with our June visitor totals in pandemic/COVID-era years, but is significantly lower than June visitor totals in the pre-COVID era. In June 2023, we were open Thursday—Sunday, rather than seven days a week as was the case up until 2020. June visitor totals in recent years were: 2022: 271, 2021: 178, 2020: closed, 2019: 447, 2018: 527, 2017: 532, 2016: 575, 2015: 649, 2014: 711, 2013: 646, 2012:
503. In June 2023, we welcomed California visitors from Alderpoint, Arcata, Eureka, Ferndale, Fortuna, Fresno, Hydesville, Loleta, Los Angeles, McKinleyville, North Tustin, Placerville, Rancho Palo Verdes, Redway, Rialto, Santa Rosa, Shelter Cove, Stewarts Point, Visalia and Yorba Linda. We also welcomed out-of-state visitors from Florida, Missouri, Nevada, Oklahoma, Texas and Washington. Our June visitors included a group tour of 21 people from Casterlin High School and a guided tour (with translator) of around 30 members of a group for Spanish-speaking families.
Fortuna Transit
Passengers on the Fortuna Transit Bus totaled 786 trips during the month of June 2023, which is 179 more riders than June 2022. The lift was used for non-wheelchair riders 55 times and 56 times for wheelchair trips. The Fortuna Transit had eight new riders during the month of June. The Eureka medical trips on Tuesdays have been going well averaging between four to six medical appointments per week. The Transit Division was down a driver in June, so office staff have been filling in as drivers to accommodate the increased ridership.
June 2022 June 2023 YTD ~ July 2021 – June
2022
YTD ~ July 2022 – June
2023
# of passengers 607 786 7713 7864
Total Miles 2002 2196 24885 23863
Service Miles 1844 2062 22710 22042
Hours Worked 266.25 310.5 3183.5 3034.75
Service Hours
Worked 227.75 240.25 2671 2702.5
Consent Item 4e
Sports, Classes and Facility Rentals
Results Fit Camp continues holding classes in the Pavilion, Pickleball plays in the Pavilion on Monday, Wednesday and Fridays from 9am – 12pm the cost is $3.00 and is open to anyone 18 years of age or older. Rohner Rec Hall was rented seven times during the month of June and the cookshack was rented three twice. We hosted many schools in the park for field trips the month of June. Fortuna High Baseball and Girls Fastpitch wrapped up their seasons at Newburg Park, and Little League continued to hold games and practices at both Rohner and Newburg Parks in June.
Recreation Programs
The first days of June were spent preparing for the start of summer youth day camp programs, Kiddie Kamp and Summer Fun, including a day and a half of leadership & safety trainings for camp staff. Camps opened for the summer on Monday June 12th, and have had approximately 100 children registered for each week-long session. Every week our Kiddie Kamp walks to the Library for story time on Fridays, and in June, the Library was able to provide an associated special planting project that our campers participated in. We are working with the Library to create a display of our campers’ artwork that will be on display for the community soon.
Drop-in volleyball continued through the month on Sunday evenings, with attendance ranging from 7 - 11 players per night.
Our playgroup for kids newborn to five years old and their caregivers, in partnership with First 5 Humboldt, also continued through June, every Thursday and Sunday from 10:30am – 12:30pm.
Attendance ranged from 1 - 9 children at each session. In collaboration with First 5 Humboldt, our Playgroup was able to incorporate a short hike to a Playgroup date on June 8th to highlight a new kids hiking book that features Rohner Park forest trails. Summer playgroup meetings will also be including outdoor time at our “tot-lot” playground through the summer to encourage families to partake of Rohner Park’s space and the pleasant seasonal weather.
Pickleball plays in the Pavilion on Monday, Wednesday and Fridays from 9am – 12pm, and the cost is $3.00 and is open to anyone 18 years of age or older.
Roller Skating
The Fortuna Skating Rink operated on summer hours for the month of June, and was open for Saturday, and Sunday Public Skate in addition to Friday and Saturday private parties. The rink was also closed for Public Skate on Saturday June 24th due to illness & staff shortage. The skating rink hosted 12 private parties with 424 attendees, in addition to the 207 skaters that attended public skate, hosted an overall total of 631 skaters in June.
Community Service
The Parks & Recreation Department had three people signed up to perform Community Service, and workers completed 34 hours throughout the months of June. 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 Consent Item 4e
spaces throughout the City. Since the program started in 1997, there have been 53,287.5 service hours completed in the throughout the City of Fortuna.
RECOMMENDED COUNCIL ACTION:
Receive Parks & Recreation Department Monthly Report. Consent Agenda vote.