Agenda Report
Fullerton City Council
MEETING DATE: AUGUST 16, 2022
TO: CITY COUNCIL / SUCCESSOR AGENCY
SUBMITTED BY: ALICE LOYA, DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF PARKS AND RECREATION PREPARED BY: ALICE LOYA, DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF PARKS AND RECREATION SUBJECT: JOINT USE AGREEMENT WITH THE FULLERTON SCHOOL DISTRICT FOR DISTRICT FIELDS USE
SUMMARY
City Council consideration of a new Joint Use Agreement between the Fullerton School District (District) and the City of Fullerton (City) for the use and maintenance of the District fields.
RECOMMENDATION
Approve Joint-Use Agreement with the Fullerton School District and authorize City Manager, or designee, to execute and administer the Joint-Use Agreement between the City and Fullerton School District and all documents related to the agreement, including administration of automatic successive one-year terms, in a form approved by the City Attorney.
CITY MANAGER REMARKS
The new agreement provides for the School District to maintain the fields with their own maintenance crews and the City will focus its resources on other City fields and parks.
PRIORITY POLICY STATEMENT
This item matches the following Priority Policy Statements:
Fiscal and Organizational Stability
Infrastructure and City Assets.
FISCAL IMPACT
Staff anticipates that the new Joint Use Agreement will result in approximately $148,000 savings in field maintenance expenses. Public Works anticipates using savings on deferred maintenance on City properties in the current fiscal year.
DISCUSSION
The Fullerton School District and the City of Fullerton have partnered to provide space for Fullerton youth sports leagues and the community to play recreational sports since 1957. The District provided access to its 19 sports fields and the City’s Public Works Department provided field maintenance through a joint use agreement. The District reimbursed the City for half of the field maintenance and watering costs. The field scheduling management responsibilities through the Parks and Recreation Department led to the creation of the Sports Field User Group comprised of the recreation sports leagues based in Fullerton and City Council approved Athletic Field Use and Allocation Policy.
Termination of the Existing Joint Use Agreement
The City’s landscape maintenance staffing levels reduced by over 50% in the last few years due to the City’s financial constraints. The District gradually assumed some maintenance and field renovations from the City. Outdoor areas became classroom extensions during COVID, resulting in a strong push by the District to increase the level of landscape maintenance.
Parks and Recreation, Public Works and District staff met in 2021 to consider the District’s desire to increase the level of maintenance of their fields and the City’s desire to attain full cost recovery. After several discussions, City and District staff determined that both the District and City would benefit from the District assuming the maintenance and scheduling duties of their fields. The District sent the City an official notice of termination on May 5, 2022 to end the Joint Use agreement effective on June, 30, 2022. The City and District entered into a temporary administrative agreement to reflect these changes until the City and District approve a new joint-use agreement. The Fullerton School Board considered the joint-use agreement on August 8, 2022.
The City will continue to maintain and schedule the City owned fields and the portion of District fields outside of the school perimeter fence. The District will maintain any portion of City park property within the school’s perimeter fence. Both the City and the District will bear the costs to maintain their fields. This will allow the City’s landscape maintenance staff to focus on City-owned parks and trails.
New Joint Use Agreement
The proposed new Joint Use Agreement would become effective August 16, 2022 ending on June 30, 2023. The agreement will automatically extend for successive one-year terms until terminated by either the City or District. The agreement addresses maintenance responsibilities by both parties as well as meeting requirements to discuss major improvements and allocation of fields to sports organizations. The agreement sets forth terms and conditions of the joint use of the District’s school grounds and the City’s park facilities at the following sites:
Fern Drive Elementary School / Park
Maple Elementary School / Lemon Park
Orangethorpe Elementary School / Park
Raymond Elementary School / Byerrum Park
Valencia Park Elementary School / Park
Woodcrest Elementary School / Park.
Impact to City’s Partner Youth Sports Leagues
The Parks and Recreation Commission directed staff during the April 11, 2022 meeting to meet with the partner youth leagues to discuss the changes in the maintenance and allocation of District fields and address any concerns from the leagues. City and District staff met at Pacific Drive School with representatives from the City Partner youth sports leagues to discuss the proposed changes. The representatives were pleased by the increase in field maintenance and improvements that will come from the District taking over the maintenance. They expressed concern that their leagues may lose access to fields they have long-used and wanted some assurance that they would not lose their field priority to rental groups paying higher fees. The District stated its goal was to serve Fullerton residents first and foremost by providing well-maintained and safe field space for its students.
The District also stated it will complete the fall field allocation process jointly with the City, honoring the established field usage allocations. The District recognized that the Partner league players and the District students are the same children. The District has a student identification system that will allow fast verification of group rosters and it will honor the City-established residency rates of 80% for recreational leagues and 55% for competitive leagues.
Sports leagues will need to schedule fields and obtain field permits from both the District and the City for their respective fields each season, rather than just with the City for all fields. However, the City and District have committed to work closely together to ensure the allocation process remains fair and maintains priority levels and historical uses of certain school fields. The District will honor the Parks and Recreation Department Policy Statement and Fee Resolution as its allocation process with some changes required for State-owned property.
District landscape staff will maintain the District fields at a higher level and allow the City to concentrate limited resources on City fields with a higher level of maintenance. Fullerton youth sports leagues and the community will continue to have the same access to use School District fields at the same fee rates.
Attachments:
Attachment 1 – City and District Joint-Use Agreement
Attachment 2 – Notice of Termination of Joint Use Agreement cc City Manager Eric J. Levitt
City and FSD Joint Use Agreement
August 16, 2022 - Page PAGE \* MERGEFORMAT 2