Rochester Hills Legistar System

- Add decking and hand rails to the bridge behind City Hall

- Add a pedestrian safety island at Avon and Livernois Roads that will have will have

pavement markings and signage

- Make improvements to every major intersection in Rochester Hills to allow trail

users to cross major roads in a safe manner

* The project is estimated to cost approximately $900,000. The City has secured a

grant from the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) for $400,000 and

obtained two (2) years of CIP funds at $150,000 each.

* MDOT has approved the project drawings.

* The bids have been opened with a low bid of $897,124. Other bids were $924,000,

$927,000 and $967,000.

* The low bid agreement will be brought forward to City Council in November for

approval.

* The bridge work can begin over the winter. The project has to be completed by June

30, 2005 or there is a fine of $900 per day for every day the contractor is late.

A motion was made by White, seconded by Raschke, that this matter be

Approved.

Whereas, the current motor vehicle entry fees to the Rochester Hills parks were

raised significantly in 2000;

Whereas, the current motor vehicle entry fee schedule is comparable to other

regional parks; and

Whereas, an increase at this time could result in reduced park revenue, as

visitors would be more inclined to use less expensive regional parks;

Now, Therefore Be It Resolved, that the Leisure Activities Committee

recommends that the motor vehicle entry fee schedule for the Rochester Hills

parks remains unchanged for 2005.

The motion carried by the following vote:

Discuss Possible Increase of Park Fees - Sports Field Rental Fees

Dept. Recommendation dtd 10-12-04.pdf; 2003 Soccer Events.pdf; 2003

Baseball Softball Game Practices.pdf; Sports Facility Fees 2005 Proposal

dtd 06-15-04.pdf; Field Rental Fees 2005 Proposal dtd 06-09-04.pdf;

Borden Field Maint Costs dtd 05-25-04.pdf; 088

The Committee discussed this matter concurrently with Legislative File #2004-0659 -

Motor Vehicle Entry Fees. The following points were made:

* All revenues for parks go into the General Fund. Parks are not self-supporting. The

City does not have a millage for parks.

* The Parks Department philosophy has been to not burden just the people who "come

through the door" with the total costs of the parks. The parks are there for everyone to

enjoy, in addition to providing an intrinsic value of open space for Rochester Hills. The

extra costs incurred should be born by the "users" of extra services. For example: the

ball players pay a proportional share of the actual direct costs associated with using the

fields. However, they do not pay for the additional items like the playground equipment

or the parking lot which are costs incurred over the life of the park.

* The parks use a car counter along with a formula to calculate attendance. In 2001,

Bloomer Park had 108,000 users. In 2002, the Veledrome was opened and the number

of users increased by 32% to 143,000. In 2003, the users increased by 25% to 179,000

* Field usage fees have not been raised in ten (10) years. The Parks Department has

been advising field users that while a fee increase is not being advocated, it will be

coming and to prepare for it. Market factors could affect field usage. For example: if

Suburban Softball closes, people might decide to join another local organization. Also, if

fees are raised significantly, attendance could fall off and defeat the increase.

* Fees should be reviewed to ensure they are covering "true costs". For example: the

costs for lights should include electricity, replacing bulbs, installation, etc.

* Rochester Hills resident, Mr. Carl Schmidt, offered the following comments:

- Mr. Schmidt is a long time user of the parks

- $25 is good value if you use the parks often

- May be better to concentrate on additional fields for a revenue source

rather than vehicle permit fees

- Need to look at where you can raise the fee and not impact park

attendance

- Three adjacent communities, Shelby Township, Troy and Auburn Hills, do

not charge for park usage. For a short drive, residents can use those parks

without paying a fee

* Soccer fields usage time is determined by a lottery system; this year, for the first

time, peak times for baseball were also determined by a lottery system.

* Currently the Department proposed fee increase is $5 resulting in $11,000 in

revenues. By increasing the fee to $10 for the same number of games would double

increase the revenue to $22,000.

* A graduated increase over three (3) years: $5 in year one; $7.50 in year two and $10

in year three could be considered so teams would have time to incorporate the increase

in fees into their charges.

* It was suggested that the youth representatives encourage students to use the park to

help increase park attendance.

* There is a need to increase public awareness of the parks.

* Soccer field labor costs are high because full-time personnel maintain the fields as

opposed to part-time personnel. This results because soccer season runs longer than

baseball season and the Parks Department does not have as many part-time

employees in the spring and fall as it has in the summer months.

* It was suggested that the City obtain corporate sponsors for the scoreboard. It was

noted that the scoreboard originally cost $1,500 and the City now receives $1,500 a

year for the scoreboard at the red field. Otherwise the City would need full-time staff to

operate and maintain the scoreboard.

The Committee reviewed the proposed changes to the Sport Facilities Fees as follows:

Borden fields 2, 3, 4, 5

* Resident rate from $35 to $45

* Non-resident rate from $50 to $60

* Adult resident rate $70 to $80

* Adult non-resident rate $100 to $110

* Cost would be pro-rated based on field size

Discussion commenced regarding the difference between lighting for soccer fields and

baseball fields including the following points:

* Charge for lighting the soccer fields is $20 per hour, which includes the parking lot

lights. The cost is $40 per soccer game because the soccer field is used for two (2)

hours.

* Actual cost of the lights is $11.68 per hour.

* Charge for baseball fields is $10 per hour because there are less fixtures and bulbs

than the soccer lights. In addition, the soccer games are held early and late in the

season and lighting is needed.

It was noted that the City needs to find a way to decrease the burden of the cost of the

parks for the taxpayers. Last year, the City received $5,147 in revenue for lighting and

paid Detroit Energy (DTE) $5,858 resulting in a loss of approximately $700.

A motion was made by Raschke, seconded by White, that this matter be

Approved.

Whereas, the current field usage fees for Rochester Hills Parks have been

unchanged for the past 10 years;

Whereas, the costs for maintaining and scheduling these fields have increased

substantially over this 10-year period; and

Whereas, strong demand for our well-maintained sports fields continues to grow;

Now, Therefore Be It Resolved, that the Leisure Activities Committee

recommends that the Rochester Hills City Council approve the field usage fee

increases for 2005 in full size fields and by a prorated amuont for smaller fields on

a base calculation of a $10 increase;

Be It Further Resolved, that the field lighting rates be approved at an increase of

$5 per hour.

The motion carried by the following vote:

Ms. Kosuda reported that she has surveyed her family and friends regarding the

preferred trail surface they would like on the City's portion of the Clinton River Trail. She

and her mother have also hiked neighboring trails to study their surfaces. She has

received more opinions in favor of an asphalt surface than the other two (2) types.

The Committee commenced a general discussion regarding the three (3) trail surface

types currently being surveyed. Mr. Hartner reported that the Friends of the Clinton

River Trail have almost completed their analysis of their Internet survey. He will invite

them to the November Leisure Activities Committee meeting to present their findings.

Ms. Kosuda also reported that several young teens have mentioned to her that they

would like a place in the city to gather with their friends outside of school where they can

socialize.

The Committee commenced a general discussion regarding where they gathered as

young teens. It was also mentioned that there had been attempts made in past years to

create a "teen center" but have failed.

Chairman Duistermars thanked Ms. Kosuda for her comments.