Life Enrichment Committee
November 14, 2023
AGENDA REPORT
TO: Jestin D. Johnson FROM: Dana Riley
City Administrator Interim Director, Parks,
Recreation & Youth
Development
SUBJECT: Golf Program Service Agreement
Between Oakland Parks, Recreation
and Youth Development and Alameda
County Office Of Education
DATE: October 16, 2023
City Administrator Approval Date:
RECOMMENDATION
Staff Recommends That The City Council Adopt A Resolution (1) Authorizing The City Administrator To Enter Into An Agreement With The Alameda County Office Of Education To Receive Compensation For The Golf Programming Provided By The Department Of Oakland Parks, Recreation And Youth Development To Camp Wilmot Sweeney Participants In The Amount Of $15,000 For September 6, 2022 To May 25, 2023 With The Option To Renew For Five Additional School Year Terms; And (2) Appropriating Said Funds.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Adoption of the proposed action authorizes the City Administrator to enter into an Agreement For Services with the Alameda County Office of Education (ACOE), in which Oakland Parks, Recreation & Youth Development (OPRYD) will be compensated $15,000 for a golf program to be provided to Camp Wilmot Sweeney program participants during the school year term from September 6, 2022 to May 25, 2023; and to approve renewal of the Agreement For Services with ACOE for up to five additional school-year terms corresponding with each of the five upcoming fiscal years. The proposed action will also authorize the City Administrator to appropriate said funds.
Nov 1, 2023
Jestin D. Johnson, City Administrator
Subject: Golf Program Service Agreement Between Oakland Parks, Recreation and Youth Development and Alameda County Office Of Education
Date: October 16, 2023 Page 2
Life Enrichment Committee
November 14, 2023
BACKGROUND / LEGISLATIVE HISTORY
Camp Wilmot Sweeney (the Camp) is a compulsory minimum-security residential program for 15–21 year old adolescent males. With the goal of “returning each minor to his community as a positive and productive citizen,” the Camp’s treatment program centers on change, growth, and progress. Special programs and services for its residents include restorative justice programming, individual counseling and substance abuse treatment, community college access, employment programs, and structured recreational activities. The Camp’s myriad services are provided in partnership with local volunteers, community based organizations in addition to, CBOs, and City and County departments and agencies.
The OPRYD-designed program for Camp Sweeney participants provides a trauma-informed approach to teaching golf fundamentals, occupational skills, sportsmanship, and teamwork.
During two-hour, twice-weekly sessions at Lake Chabot Golf Course, OPRYD certified and fingerprinted staff lead participants in structured outdoor play that promotes the growth of self- discipline and creative thought, mitigates anxiety and depression, and encourages respectful interaction between participants, staff, and their environs. In partnership with Touchstone Golf, participants engage in job-training activities encompassing golf topics such as course set up, maintenance, and the proper use of equipment. Past project activities included beautifying the course landscape and maintaining a practice area. This instruction has greatly benefitted the Camp’s residents by encouraging and engaging youth in a new environment where they learn the fundamentals of occupational and social skills, growth, and teamwork. Camp participants benefit from the golf program through preparation for responsible citizenship, learning sportsmanship and leadership skills, and developing an improved attitude toward learning experiences.
For more than 10 years, the OPRYD and ACOE have partnered to provide individualized golf instruction and specialized education to Camp participants. In past years, ACOE entered into an Agreement For Service with OPRYD, where ACOE contracts with OPRYD to provide the staffing, equipment, materials, and supplies for the golf program described above. Each Agreement For Service term was for a school year aligning with the City’s fiscal year. The Agreement For Service was previously administered in coordination with the Oakland Parks and Recreation Foundation (the Foundation). When the contract between OPRYD and the Foundation lapsed in 2021, ACOE funds could no longer be received via the Foundation. The program continued; however, OPRYD’s understaffing left the department without the organizational capacity to renegotiate the agreement until the May 2023 hiring of a Management Assistant. This proposed resolution would allow ACOE to pay the City for the scope of services rendered by OPRYD during the 2022-23 school year and approve the payment for services provided by OPRYD during the five consecutive school years that follow.
ANALYSIS AND POLICY ALTERNATIVES
The golf program for the youth incarcerated at Camp Wilmot Sweeney advances the Citywide priority of holistic community safety. More than 1,000 at-risk youth are served by the OPRYD golf program, which provides programming two days a week, year-round. The contract with ACOE allows OPRYD to
1. teach golf fundamentals, leadership, and sportsmanship at Lake Chabot Golf Course; Jestin D. Johnson, City Administrator
Subject: Golf Program Service Agreement Between Oakland Parks, Recreation and Youth Development and Alameda County Office Of Education
Date: October 16, 2023 Page 3
Life Enrichment Committee
November 14, 2023
2. provide occupational training and preparation for jobs in the golf industry;
3. provide education in life skills, including safety, goal-setting, interpersonal relationships and self-management; and
4. offer training in etiquette, values and controlling emotions.
At-risk youth are provided with social, emotional and educational tools in an outdoor group- sports setting, laying the groundwork for a safe, supported re-entry into the larger Oakland community.
FISCAL IMPACT
Under the proposed resolution, the City will gain an additional $15,000 for fiscal years 2022- 2023 with the opportunity to renew for an additional five years, in amounts to be determined for future years. The contract funds will be received on a yearly basis and appropriated to the Office Of Parks And Recreation Cultural Advisory Self Sustaining Revolving Fund 1820, Area One Special Sports Programs Organization 502370, Recreation, Cultural Civic Program NB03, with Project and Accounts to be determined at a later date. As the proposed resolution will provide a contract for an existing program, no additional funds will be uncured.
PUBLIC OUTREACH / INTEREST
No outreach was deemed necessary for the proposed policy action beyond the standard City Council agenda noticing procedures, because of the program’s history, ongoing success and narrow scope. .
COORDINATION
This report and legislation were reviewed by the Office of the City Attorney and the Budget Bureau.
SUSTAINABLE OPPORTUNITIES
Economic: The Camp program’s economic benefits are both current and future-looking.
Programs are taught by OPRYD part-time employees, the majority of whom are Oakland residents. This has a direct and immediate impact on the health of the Oakland economy and its communities. In the long-term, Camp residents are provided opportunities for educational growth, employment training, and internships. The Camp’s golf program is a part of that critical course-change for these adolescents, and the life skills learned in this program will enable participants to be competitive once they are ready to enter the workforce.
Environmental: OPRYD’s golf program at Lake Chabot Golf Course encourages and promotes the game of golf and leadership. The Camp program teaches youth about sportsmanship and other outdoor recreation opportunities while nurturing a love of and respect for nature in at-risk youth.
Jestin D. Johnson, City Administrator
Subject: Golf Program Service Agreement Between Oakland Parks, Recreation and Youth Development and Alameda County Office Of Education
Date: October 16, 2023 Page 4
Life Enrichment Committee
November 14, 2023
Race & Equity: OPRYD’s golf program increases youth involvement and sports participation, providing Black and Brown participants with access to all the benefits that come from playing sports. OPRYD’s golf program centers youth to connect, challenge, and think, improving quality of life, education, health, and wellness.
The equitable access provided by OPRYD is striking at Camp Wilmot Sweeney. According to data provided by the Alameda County Probation Department, clients at the Camp are overwhelmingly BIPOC, with 64.44% identifying as African American, 23% Hispanic, and 6% Asian/Pacific Islander.
ACTION REQUESTED OF THE CITY COUNCIL
Staff Recommends That The City Council Adopt A Resolution (1) Authorizing The City Administrator To Enter Into An Agreement With The Alameda County Office Of Education To Receive Compensation For The Golf Programming Provided By The Department Of Oakland Parks, Recreation And Youth Development To Camp Wilmot Sweeney Participants In The Amount Of $15,000 For September 6, 2022-May 25, 2023 With The Option To Renew For Five Additional School Year Terms; And (2) Appropriating Said Funds.
For questions regarding this report, please contact Felicia Gotthelf, Management Assistant, at 510-671-4657.
Respectfully submitted,
E. HARITH ALEEM, JR.
Acting Director, Parks, Recreation &
Youth Development
Prepared by:
Felicia Gotthelf, Management
Assistant