Consent Item 4e
STAFF REPORT
City Council Consent Item
DATE: January 16, 2023
TO: Honorable Mayor and Council Members
FROM: Merritt Perry, City Manager
THROUGH: Merritt Perry, City Manager
SUBJECT: Parks & Recreation Monthly Report for December 2023 STAFF RECOMMENDATION:
Receive report as an informational item.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
Director’s Report
The City Manager continues to act as Director of Parks and Recreation until a replacement is hired to fill the position. The City has extended an offer to a candidate and if all the hiring steps are completed the new Director will come on during the month of February.
The former Recreation Supervisor resigned, and the City has extended an offer to a new Recreation Supervisor. Provided all of the hiring steps are completed, it is anticipated that the new Recreation Supervisor will come on-board in January. In the meantime, our Recreation Coordinators and Recreation/Transit Office Supervisor are completing the tasks necessary to implement the recreation programs.
Parks & Facility Maintenance
Deep cleaned the inside and outside of the Library, City Hall, Police Department and Recreation Hall
Installed LED driver for the outside lights at the Library Took down the Christmas lights at the River Lodge
Tinted windows at the Museum
Removed graffiti from the men’s restroom at Rohner Park Sanitized all drinking fountains at Rohner and Newburg Park Painted over graffiti on the Carson Woods bridge
Installed earthquake straps in the Pavilion
Replaced the water filter in the restrooms at Rohner Park Refinished the Pavilion floor
Worked on the Pavilion roof
Put flags to half mass for Pearl Harbor Day
Replaced the outdoor light bulbs at the Monday Club
Replaced air filters at the River Lodge
Consent Item 4e
Depot Museum
The December visitor total at the Fortuna Depot Museum was 154 people. This is in the middle range for our December visitation totals in recent years. Recent previous December totals are 2022:
137, 2021: 95, 2020 (open only one day): 3, 2019: 146, 2018: 147, 2017: 233, 2016: 184, 2015:
98, 2014: 230, 2013: 165. In December 2023 we welcomed California visitors from Arcata, Carmel, Dunsmuir, Eureka, Ferndale, Fortuna, Loma Linda, Los Angeles, Marina, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose and Scotia, as well as out-of-state visitors from Utah and Washington. Holiday season exhibits installed in December included “Two Hundred Years of The Night Before Christmas” and “A Journey Across Europe with Santa Claus and His Friends.” Fortuna Transit
Passengers on the Fortuna Transit Bus totaled 889 trips during December 2023 which is 250 more riders than December 2022. Again, job well done to my drivers and dispatch!! The lift was used for non-wheelchair riders 48 times and 36 times for wheelchair trips. The Fortuna Transit had two new riders during December. The Eureka medical trips on Tuesdays have been going well averaging around 4-6 medical appointments per week.
Sports, Classes and Facility Rentals
Results Fit Camp continues holding classes in the Pavilion six times a week, Pickleball plays in the Pavilion on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 9 am – 12 pm the cost is $3.00 and is open to anyone 18 years of age or older. Rohner Rec Hall was rented ten times during December.
Recreation Programs
The Recreation division spent much of early December planning, developing, and implementing our Winter Break Camp for kids 5-12 years old. We had 46 children registered for the 2-week program. Unfortunately, due to changes in how the Fortuna Elementary School District is applying their ELOP grant funding we were unable to offer that option to camp families, however, we were able to continue offering ELOP funding for Scotia’s Elementary School District families. Starting with Winter Break Camp we have begun offering ELOP grant funding to families attending a Southern Trinity Joint Unified School District school, and have a volunteer school staff that joined camp sessions through the STJUSD ELOP grant funding.
The Fireman’s Pavilion had the floor refinished during the last week of December, requiring all Pavilion Recreation programming to be temporarily closed while work was completed.
December
2022
December
2023
YTD ~ July 2022 –
June 2023
YTD ~ July 2023 –
June 2024
# of passengers 639 889 7713 4886
Total Miles 1883 2427 24885 13999
Service Miles 1739 2263 22710 13111
Hours Worked 255.5 292.5 3183.5 1761.75
Service Hours
Worked 220.25 252 2671 1465.5
Consent Item 4e
Drop-in volleyball continued through most of the month, with closures on 12/24 and 12/31. Both sessions are facilitated by volunteers who organize teams and game play while staff manage payments, waivers, and facility care. Attendance at the youth session for ages 10-14 ranged from 9-12 players each night, while attendance at the 15+ session ranged from 3-10 players. Volunteer hours for volleyball totaled 12 hours over the course of the month.
Drop-in basketball was open Thursday evenings through most of December, and will run through the winter & early spring on Thursday nights from 7:30 – 9:30pm. Basketball was canceled Thursday 12/28 due to the Pavilion floor refinishing. Attendance ranged from 2-6 players 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 from 10:30am – 12:30pm. Attendance ranged from 12-17 children at each session, with a special visit on the 7th of the month from the Redwood Coast Regional Center.
Playgroup was closed on 12/28 for the Pavilion floor refinishing project.
The Kids Free Movie event took place on December 9th, an FBID event that was supported by our Recreation division. The event provided local families an opportunity to drop their children ages 5 – 12 off in a safe and fun environment while spending a couple hours shopping in Fortuna for the holidays. Recreation’s camp staff provided child care and facilitated movie set-up and takedown, as well as a themed activity.
Skating
The Fortuna Skating Rink was open for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday Public Skate in addition to private parties. Skate maintenance and wheel cleaning took place on the third Sunday of the month to assure the equipment and facility are kept clean and in good condition, and so skate maintenance can better follow the manufacturer’s recommended maintenance schedule for longevity. This session includes 5 staff for 3.5 hours working on two wheel cleaners simultaneously while the other staff work through safety checks on skate pairs. Staff are monitoring usage impacts closely to determine the efficacy of this schedule, particularly following the refinishing of the Pavilion floor.
The rink was closed from Sunday 12/24 through the end of the month for floor refinishing.
Through the month of December the skating rink hosted 16 private parties with 522 attendees and in addition to the 386 skaters that attended public skate, hosted a total of 908 skaters over the course of the month.
Part-Time Recreation Staff Hours YTD
Recreation utilized a total of 555.75 staff hours for the month of December.
Projected vs. Actual Part-Time Rec Hours Notes
Running
Total
Running
Total
23-Jul 2250 2250 Jul-23 2,036.25 2036.25
23-
Aug 1210 3460 Aug23 1445.25 3481.5
23-
Sep 300 3760 Sep23 425.75 3907.25
TPAR Cashiering implementation (~75 hr
prep training materials, coor training, staff
training); all skate staff mtg (15 hr);
Consent Item 4e
program training (sk – summer staff,
~20hr)
23-
Oct 550 4310 Oct23 523.25 4430.5 Added youth Vball session; +15-18hr prep/infrastructure; +9hr/mo 23-
Nov 530 4840 Nov23 522.25 4952.75
Starting monthly skate maint/clean
(+17.5hr/mo) & Drop-in Basketball; TPAR
struggles with credit card machine and
camp registration - required extensive
troubleshooting; New Dec event planning
(Kids Free Movie)
23-
Dec 520 5360 Dec23 555.75 5508
Kids Free Movie event (paid party but high
staff requirements due to movie equipment
& anticipated attendance)
24-
Jan 550 5910 Jan24 -
24-
Feb 460 6370 Feb24 -
24-
Mar 750 7120 Mar24 -
24-
Apr 560 7680 Apr24 -
24-
May 340 8020 May24 -
24-
Jun 1980 10000 Jun24
Total: 10,000 Total: 4952.75
Community Service
The Parks & Recreation Department had four people signed up to perform Community Service, and workers completed 8 hours throughout December. 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 53,602 service hours completed throughout the City of Fortuna.
RECOMMENDED COUNCIL ACTION:
Receive Monthly Parks & Recreation Department Report. Consent Agenda Vote.