Consent Item 3e
STAFF REPORT
City Council Consent Item
DATE: December 18, 2023
TO: Honorable Mayor and Council Members
FROM: Merritt Perry, City Manager
SUBJECT: Parks & Recreation Monthly Report for October 2023 STAFF RECOMMENDATION:
Receive report as an informational item.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
Parks & Facility Maintenance (non-routine items)
Staff mowed and prepared the fields at Newburg Park for softball and soccer Staff repaired broken front door window at the Monday Club from a user group Staff repaired toilets at Newburg and Rohner Park public restrooms Staff prepared the cook shack area for user group at multiple times. Staff cleaned cook shack area after
Staff performed a safety inspection on the net for the volley ball program Staff installed gate latches on the Fireman’s Pavilion service window for safety issues Staff prepared facilities for Winter weather. Cleaned and maintained roof gutters and checked heater filters. Staff cleared debris from drainage inlets in both parks Staff set up for Redwood Preps bike rodeo at Newburg Park by delivering 12 barricades and 30 cones to Newburg Park
Staff picked up green waste left behind from the Garden Club from the bulb sidewalks on Main Street
Staff assisted the City Carpenter to resolve a shorted parking lot light at River Lodge Staff conducted a deep clean at City Hall, Police Department and the Library Staff scheduled delivery of picnic tables and chairs for different locations for Apple Harvest Festival. Staff delivered garbage cans and bags for Main Street and Clendenen’s Cider Works. Staff checked on garbage cans throughout the Festival time. Clean up after the weekend event
Staff replaced rotten boards on the ADA ramp to the park office and on the Carson Woods footbridge
Staff repaired broken boards on the foot bridge that connects to Carson Woods Road Staff repaired a water leak at the Library
Staff conducted gutter repairs on the Recreation Hall Staff with the assistance of Street staff, installed a small drainage inlet to and pipe in between the bike park and the softball field
Staff addressed trip hazards in Rohner Park
Staff removed hazardous limbs at both parks
Staff repaired flag pole rope and replaced worn American flag Consent Item 3e
Depot Museum
October’s visitor total at the Fortuna Depot Museum was 183 people. This is in the middle range of our typical October visitation. Recent years’ October visitation totals were: 2022: 228, 2021:
133, 2020: 92, 2019: 200, 2018: 253, 2017: 206, 2016: 160, 2015: 309, 2014: 197, 2013: 227. In October 2023 we welcomed California visitors from Arcata, Chula Vista, Cottonwood, Eureka, Ferndale, Fortuna, Los Angeles, McKinleyvile, Miranda, Monterey, Redding, Rio Dell, Sacramento, Santa Rosa, Shingle Springs and Windsor. We also welcomed out-of-state visitors from South Carolina. A 100th anniversary exhibit on the Great Berkeley Fire of 1923 was installed in late September and remained on display through the month of October.
Fortuna Transit
Passengers on the Fortuna Transit Bus totaled 833 trips during the month of October 2023 which is 190 more riders then October 2022, job well done to my drivers and dispatch!! The lift was used for non-wheelchair riders 41 times and 30 times for wheelchair trips. The Fortuna Transit had seven new riders during the month of October. The Eureka medical trips on Tuesdays have been going well averaging around 4-6 medical appointments per week.
Sports, Classes and Facility Rentals
Adult Rec League Coed Softball has ended, the teams had a fun season. Results Fit Camp continues holding classes in the Pavilion six times a week, 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. Little League, Humboldt Fastpitch, Eel River Youth Soccer and Emerald Football Club Soccer have completed their seasons. Rohner Rec Hall was rented eleven times and the cook shack area was rented three times during the month of October. The Lamb BBQ was held in Rohner Park in October and had a great turnout.
Recreation Programs
In the month of October, the Recreation division opened up a new drop-in volleyball session for youth ages 10 – 14 on Sunday evenings in response to increasing numbers at the previous sessions for ages 11+. The drop-in session for ages 15+ was shifted to later in the evening, now taking place immediately following the youth session. Both sessions are facilitated by volunteers who organize teams and game play while staff manage payments, waivers, and facility care. Our youth session features a warm-up and drills portion (facilitated by volunteers) intended to provide an introduction October 2022 October 2023 YTD ~ July 2022 –
June 2023
YTD ~ July 2023 – June
2024
# of passengers 643 833 7713 3169
Total Miles 1998 2533 24885 9194
Service Miles 1807 2357 22710 8638
Hours Worked 248 317.5 3183.5 1164.5
Service Hours
Worked 216.5 317.5 2671 945.5
Consent Item 3e
to volleyball basics and supported skill development for the first 45 minutes of the session before breaking out into game play. Attendance at the youth session ranged from 14-20 players each night, while attendance at the 15+ session ranged from 15-27 players. Volunteer hours for volleyball totaled 26 over the course of the month.
Our playgroup for kids ages 0-5 and their caregivers, in partnership with First 5 Humboldt, took place Thursdays and Sundays from 10:30am – 12:30pm. Attendance ranged from 0-8 children at each session, with a special visit on the last Thursday of the month from our local librarian for Story Time. Despite increased efforts over the month to increase our Sunday attendance (through an extra advertising push and facilitator outreach) participation remained low. The decision was made to remove the Sunday offering from our Playgroup schedule at the end of the month, and beginning in November we will be offering only our Thursday session.
The first Saturday in October was the Apple Harvest Festival, and Recreation ran a coloring contest (social-media driven) in the week leading up to the event as well as hosting an Apple Harvestthemed skate night that evening. The rest of the month was dedicated to preparations for our 3rd annual Spook-A-Thon, a free youth Halloween carnival event that took place on Saturday October 28th. The Spook-A-Thon is entirely funded by the generosity of our local community through donations & sponsorships. This year’s donations were significantly lower than in previous years, requiring a scaling-down of Spook-A-Thon offerings. The event featured a number of carnival games and booths hosted by local community groups, businesses, and non-profits. This year’s Spook-A-Thon saw 216 children participating with an average of 2 parent/guardians per participant, for a total estimated attendance of 800-900 people during the 2-hour event. Volunteer hours for preparation and event were 9.5 total.
Roller Skating
The Fortuna Skating Rink was open for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday Public Skate in addition to Friday and Saturday private parties. The rink was closed for all skate on Saturday October 28 due to the Spook-A-Thon event. Through the month of October, the skating rink hosted 11 private parties with 270 attendees, and in addition to the 523 skaters that attended public skate, hosted an overall total of 793 skaters over the course of the month. Staff used time during Public Skate on sessions with lower attendance to chip away at skate maintenance and repair rather than leaving early, in order to chip away at necessary safety checks and repairs prior to our winter increase in attendance numbers.
Part-Time Recreation Staff Hours YTD
Recreation utilized a total of 523.25 staff hours for the month of October.
Projected vs. Actual Part-Time Rec Hours
23-Jul 2250 Jul-23 2,036.25
23-Aug 1210 Aug-23 1445.25
23-Sep 300 Sep-23 425.75
23-Oct 550 Oct-23 523.25
23-Nov 530 Nov-23 -
Consent Item 3e
23-Dec 520 Dec-23 -
24-Jan 550 Jan-24 -
24-Feb 460 Feb-24 -
24-Mar 750 Mar-24 -
24-Apr 560 Apr-24 -
24-May 340 May-24 -
24-Jun 1980 Jun-24
Total: 10,000.00 Total: 4,430.50
Community Service
The Parks & Recreation Department had five people signed up to perform Community Service, and workers completed 70.25 hours throughout the month of October. 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 Parksmaintained spaces throughout the City. Since the program started in 1997, there have been 53,542 service hours completed in the throughout the City of Fortuna.
RECOMMENDED COUNCIL ACTION:
Receive Monthly Parks & Recreation Department Report. Consent Agenda Vote.