PRC MIN 1995-04-26 - Laserfiche WebLink

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ITEM 2 - RED MORTON CENTER UPDATE Director Griffiths announced there will be a Study Session with the City Council on Monday, May 1 at 7:35pm in the Library Community Room to discuss the proposed revenue plan for the new Red Morton Center. Supervisor Hannon and Supervisor Knight will be making a presentation at the Study Session to further explain the justification. Supervisor Hannon reviewed the history of the Red Morton project and explained that on August 2, 1993 at a City Council Study Session, the City Council approved the Red Morton Center funding and added funds to the proposed budget to allow for a larger gym. They also heard presentations from two consultants; one regarding office relocation of full-time staff and another gave an overview of the operating costs and revenue potential of the new facility as planned. At that time, the City Council agreed in concept to offset some of the operating costs of the center with user fees and asked staff to return with more information when they were closer to the opening of the building. Supervisor Hannon noted that staff has researched the user fee issue and is now returning to the City Council with the necessary informa tion. Supervisor Hannon reported that due to weather delays, the construction process is four months behind and the estimated date that construction will be completed is mid-December. She mentioned that Commissioner Hughes organized a successful Press Tour /luncheon of the new facility which was held today, and representatives from the Redwood City Almanac, Redwood City Tribune, and San Mateo Times were in attendance. Supervisor Knight reported that she visited and surveyed eight other cities on the Peninsula about their recreation facilities, programming, and staffing. In her extensive research of the other cities' facilities, she found that our new Center is very unique and has a combination of components that are not common in other facilities. Supervisor Knight explained that staff is recommending four types of user fees: Adult Gymnasium & Cardiovascular drop-in Usage; Adult Aerobics class drop-in usage; Youth (ages 6-17) drop-in usage; and babysitting fees. She explained each category in detail, the costs for the drop-in usage, and how the fees would be collected. There would be rates for residents and non-residents for each activity. Councilperson Diane Howard stated that if someone was unable to pay the user fee, then perhaps they could donate community service hours in place of the fee. In addition, scholarships would also be available. Commissioner Davis asked about charging youth sports groups for the use of the facility and Supervisor Hannon said the rental rates for all department facilities will be revised at a later time.