Thursday, December 8, 2011
It's a myth!
The November 28, 2011 Commission recording has been partially recovered. As I had said previously, I had technical difficulties recording the meetings. I have posted the Parking Authority Meeting, the Commission Discussion Session, Part 1, and a partial recording of the Commission Meeting. I was able to salvage Bill Lewis' comments where he revealed that the Youth Sports Alliance does NOT contribute to municipal fields maintenance. They only contribute to the School District fields. It costs the taxpayers $32,000 a year for Youth Sports to use the five municipal fields. You can hear Manager Steve Feller verify this information. Bill's comments start about half way through the podcast. Thanks, Bill, for exposing this myth.
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16 comments:
The "myth" is more extensive than even that documented and confirmed at the Commission meeting on Nov. 28.
Revealed on Nov. 28 was that the $83,000 (which includes $30,000from the Youth Sports Alliance)from the School District covers ONLY the 13 District fields...not the 5 Municipal fields! Nor does it include the annual cost of mowing those 13 District fields.
There are actually additional work assignments with obvious costs associated with the District fields not accounted for above that are defined in the "Joint Maintenance Agreement For School District Athletic Fields". This added work includes "School District employees are responsible for weekly infield dragging,irrigation and facility maintenance", which is in addition to all lawn mowing revealed on Nov.28.
The derived $32,000 annual cost for the 5 Muni fields did not include mowing, field dragging, irrigation and facility maintenance either since it was an average based only on the District field cost in the Agreement..i.e.$83,000/13 = $6,400 and $6,400 X 5 = $32,000...the actual total Muni annual cost must be more like $37,000 and the 13 District fields $96,000 or so if one assumes that these added costs would collectively average out to about $1,000/field. The total annual field costs for all 18 fields would be more like $133,000.
This contrasts with the "myth" that the $83,000 (which includes $30,000 from the YSA) covers the total annual maintenance costs for the 13 District AND 5 Muni athletic fields. The parties to the Agreement have always been and remain the Muni, District and YSA....hard to explain how & why the "myth" has prevailed in public for so many years.
Bill Lewis
And they are worried about block party fees?
Elaine
Don't forget that at least three of the last four years the school district has paid upwards of $50k per capital projects budget just to do the grading of Mellon field. Somehow nobody can figure out how to keep it "crowned".
I am requesting that you identify yourselves on this thread. Thanks.
Elaine
So Bill, how do the commissioners make this right? Is it a budget item? Do we need a new "Joint Maintenance Agreement"? Has the school district been holding out all this time?
Elaine
The Muni athletic fields are the only recreation facilities, save the basketball court in Main Park, for which there is no Muni fee schedule...like there are for tennis, paddle tennis, golf, the rink, rec. meeting rooms, park pavilions, etc.
The Rec. Dept., Manager & Commission have refused, for the several years I have been requesting, to establish fees for the 5 athletic fields. There is absolutely no valid reason to not have appropriate fees charged.
Bill Lewis
Mr. Lewis, do you know what all is included in that maintenance number? It just seems high. I spend more time than most at our municipal fields and baseball fields, and I generally don't see the muni staff tending to them.
With respect to the baseball fields most of the work (except the grass cutting) is performed by the baseball association. On rare occasions there are field issues that are handled by certain muni staff (like eliminating the unsafe "lip" behind first base at Dixon), but those instances are few and far between.
Similarly, the baseball association supplies the field dry, etc that is used at these fields, so I don't think those expenses are part of this number.
To the extent the municipality drags the fields, I think it is probably once per field at the start of the season. After that, the baseball association uses its own mini-tractor to drag some fields. However, most are dragged by hand before and after games by coaches. Wildcat is largely cared for by the high school baseball coach and couple of other dedicated folks. It is truly a labor of love for them.
As for fields like Bird and Brafferton, I don't know what would be involved in maintaining it aside from grass cutting and garbage removal. Some have built-in irrigation (not many), so I guess part of the expense could be the water bill. Most of the fields never get watered at all.
Just trying to understand where $133,000 goes . . .
Dave Franklin
Twas the Month before Christmas
T’was the month before Christmas
When all through our land,
Not a School Board was praying
Nor taking a stand.
Why the PC Police had taken away
The reason for Christmas - no one could say.
The children were told by their schools not to sing
About Shepherds and Wise Men and Angels and things.
It might hurt people's feelings, the teachers would say
December 25th is just a ' Holiday '.
Yet the shoppers were ready with cash, checks and credit
Pushing folks down to the floor just to get it!
CDs from Madonna, an X BOX, an I-Pod
Something was changing, something quite odd!
Retailers promoted Ramadan and Kwanzaa
In hopes to sell books by Franken & Fonda.
As Targets were hanging their trees upside down
At Lowe's the word Christmas - was no where to be found.
At K-Mart and Staples and Penny's and Sears
You won't hear the word Christmas; it won't touch your ears.
Inclusive, sensitive, Di-ver-si-ty
Are words that were used to intimidate me.
Now Daschle, Now Darden, Now Sharpton, Wolf Blitzen
On Boxer, on Rather, on Kerry, on Clinton !
At the top of the Senate, there arose such a clatter
To eliminate Jesus, in all public matter.
And we spoke not a word, as they took away our faith
Forbidden to speak of salvation and grace
The true Gift of Christmas was exchanged and discarded
The reason for the season, stopped before it started.
So as you celebrate 'Winter Break' under your 'Dream Tree'
Sipping your Starbucks, listen to me.
Choose your words carefully, choose what you say
Shout MERRY CHRISTMAS,
not Happy Holiday !
Bill Hook
Bill L., would it be appropriate for this to be brought up at budget hearing?
Dave, would you or someone from the sports groups ask for an accounting of the money? Would that be Jan Klein who handles that? We would all like to know where the $133,000 goes. When you find out, would you please share that with us?
Elaine
"I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year. I will live in the Past, the Present, and the Future. The Spirits of all Three shall strive within me. I will not shut out the lessons that they teach.
Merry Christmas, Mr Hook!
E. Scrooge
P.S. God Bless Us, Every One!
Tiny Tim
Dave Franklin is (as usual) correct that the municipality drags the fields once at the start of the baseball/softball season (and I think they add some dirt, too). After that, it's all volunteers. I'm going to name names. Every Saturday morning (and other times), volunteer Scott Isler from the Baseball Association drags Dixon and Middle Fields with the tractor that is owned by the Baseball Association. When he's not using it, volunteer John Rambo from the Softball Association often has the tractor out dragging other fields (I've seen him tow it over to Markham, for instance).--Neil Berch
Dave,
I truly do not know what all the actual field costs are (the $133,000 is my best guess) or how the costs are actually apportioned (mowing, irrigating, etc. field-by-field). And, I am honestly not at all sure the Muni or the District knows either. I am going by what appears in public documents and proceedings (Muni budgets, CIP's, Agreements, meeting attendance, minutes and recordings) and periodic conversations & messages with and between a few public officials.
If you feel that work required to be done in accordance with the Agreement is not being done, or done satisfactorily, you and the sports groups can formally address such issues with the Muni and/or District, and perhaps already have. I know there are serious problems with several Muni and District fields...Bird, Brafferton and Mellon for instance...the root causes, solutions and costs for which are undoubtedly beyond the scope of what is called for and allowed in the Agreement.
My opinions on the 3 Cedar Blvd. fields seem to differ somewhat from yours. As I think you know, I'm a retiree of some years and a tennis player....I drive by Wildcat, Middle and Dixon fields at least 6 times/week, year round at different daytime hours. I witness Public Works employees working on those fields from early spring through late summer/early fall all the time, certainly not every day but believe me a whole lot of days....while you and most other parent/coaches are at work elsewhere. However, you are a far better judge of actual field conditions and usage than I am able to conclude.
I think you, the YSA, PAC, Blue Devils and the field sports associations need a major sit-down problem solving & planning session with the Muni & District together in a locked meeting room at the Rec Center with the heat turned up and resolve what I will term "The Mess". My personal view is that you need to fix the existing "Mess" once and for all before you even begin to think about McNeilly....but, thats just me and what does this oldtimer know ?
Good luck Dave.
Bill Lewis
Bill, you are correct that I am rarely at the fields before 5, but when I arrive it doesn't appear that anything has been done (save the monthly grass cutting). I'd love tho know what they're doing on a whole lot of days. Case in point, the sprinkler head in left field at Dixon was busted from mid July to October. It was stuck in one spot that unfortunately meant that in the middle of the night that one sprinkler head would soak a large area between theshortstop position and the pitcher's mound. If someone was really there on most days, you think that would have been fixed at some point over 4 months. Thanks for the good luck.
Dave Franklin
Sprinkler head broken for 4 months!
Taped windows in the high school for years!
Makes one wonder what kinda of maintenance we're paying for!
Giffen Good
Dave,
When I observe weekday work on the Cedar Blvd. fields, it usually involves 1 or 2 Public Works trucks normally parked in the lot between Middle & Dixson or sometimes on an outfield , and 2 to 4 workmen grooming one of the infields and/or cutting the grass, etc...about 2 hours later, after tennis, the trucks usually remain and workers are on a different field...most of the time I see them on Wildcat and/or Dixson.
I also note fathers/coaches dragging and lining the fields, etc. on weekend game day mornings while the players and others are arriving during the baseball season, and parents/coaches preparing the fields & goal nets for the always busy and crowded fall soccer practices and games on the Cedar fields.
There is no doubt that the parents/coaches do an enormous amount of field prep, but I am amazed and disappointed to hear of reported shortcomings in actual field maintenance supposedly to be conducted under the Agreement.
Something that has concerned me in Muni field oversight and management is that it is a split responsibility...the user or public usage is considered recreational that falls under the Rec. Dept., while the fields themselves are the responsibility of the Public Works Dept. as fields are located in and are a part of the municipal park system.
When you have sprinkler, drainage or other field problems, who do you go to to fix the problem(s) ?
Bill Lewis
As I recall, the athletic parents first gave the $30,000 about 1995-1996 because the District would not fix the school fields to the satisfaction of the parents. Some of the older board members said they wanted to put the money into education instead of fields.
In the 15 or 16 years since, the $30,000 has remained the same but the cost of labor and supplies has increased and the District’s ability to raise taxes has been limited by Act 1 and Act 25.
Act 1 put in a millage index increase limit with 10 exceptions. Act 25 striped away seven of the 10 exceptions so the District will likely have future budget shortages like USC has today, and the Municipality has current budget problems that have not been fixed yet but folks want municipal and school services.
Both local governmental units are or will be short of funds and neither governing body has yet addressed the full range of problems before them although they are trying.
I wish you good luck in finding your answers, Mr. Franklin. Ask Ms. Klein if she can detail the expenditures on each of the school fields, and ask Ms. Taylor if she can give you the same information on the municipal fields. Ask if they can also detail any debt service associated with each of these fields.
John Ewing
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