Rochester Hills Legistar System

Chairperson Duistermars gave a brief overview of the project. Mr. Hartner gave an

update of the project that included the following:

* Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) is involved by giving the City a grant

for $400,000.

* The Clinton River Trail (CRT) travels through Rochester Hills and crosses five (5)

major county roads which are: Avon, Livernois, Hamlin, Crooks and Adams.

* There will be road improvements to the five (5) major intersections to allow trail users

to cross in a safe manner.

* The CRT will open up the City and connect to Auburn Hills, the Paint Creek Trail and

Macomb Orchard Trail which are all part of the same railroad bed.

* At both Avon and Livernois Roads, there will be a proto-type "refuge island" approved

by the Road Commission for Oakland County (RCOC) to allow trail users to safely cross

when traffic clears in one direction, then cross when traffic clears in the other direction.

* Bids for the project are due September 30, 2004.

* RCOC must review all road improvement plans which has added several months to

the project timeline.

* There are eleven (11) different trail systems in Oakland County which all cross over

major county roads; Rochester Hills is the first municipality to get approvals from

RCOC.

Mr. Hartner gave a brief history and update that included the following:

* When funding becomes available, the Committee will decide what type of surfacing

will be used on the City's portion of the trail. Currently, the Committee has been

studying and discussing the three (3) surfacing options which are crushed stone, asphalt

and stabilized crushed stone.

* There is fifty (50) feet of a stabilized crushed stone "test plot" that was put down last

year on CRT just inside the Crooks Road gate for people to examine and give feedback.

It is made from a plant-based product that looks like gravel.

* The Friends of the Clinton River Trail (FCRT) published an Internet survey regarding

the three (3) surface choices and received approximately 350 responses which they are

still analyzing and will present at a later date.

* The Parks Department published the same survey in the Hills Herald which is

distributed to 26,000 city homes and received only 53 responses.

* The Leisure Activities Committee will be faced with a tough decision regarding the

surface choice. There is no clear mandate from the public.

* There is a grant request pending for $750,000 to fund the surfacing. In addition to the

initial surfacing cost, items such as operations, life cycle, maintenance and erosion

costs must be considered.

Mr. Hartner encouraged the committee to examine other nearby trail surfaces to make

comparisons.

Discuss Possible Increase of Park Fees - Motor Vehicle Entry Fees

0585 Resolution from Council dtd 07-28-04.pdf; Chapter 54 Fees - Parks

and Rec.pdf; Dept. Recommendation dtd 10-12-04 .pdf; Motor Vehicle

Entry Fee Survey 09-2004.pdf; 0659 Draft Resolution dtd 10-12-04.pdf

Chairperson Duistermars explained that a resolution was referred from City Council

asking the Committee to review the motor vehicle entry fees to City parks to determine if

they could be increased. The resolution resulted from construction costs that will be

incurred to reconstruct the main concession building at Spencer Park and bring it up to

code. The building is approximately twenty-three (23) years old.

Mr. Hartner and Mr. Buckenmeyer presented background information that included the

following:

* Funding for the Parks Department comes from the City's General Fund; it does not

have a dedicated millage or a separate source of funding.

* The City also maintains a separate Capital Improvement Fund that is used to rebuild

major buildings and structures when warranted.

* The City is looking for ways to increase dollars that support the General Fund and the

Capital Improvement Fund.

* The Parks Department is currently examining the sport field rental fees charged for

activities such as soccer and baseball, etc. and will present a proposed increased to the

current fee schedule to the Committee next month which would then be presented to

City Council.

* By reconstructing a new concession stand at Spencer Park, more services can be

offered which will also generate additional revenue.

* The City only charges an entry fee for three (3) City parks: Spencer, Bloomer and

Yates. They are as follows:

Yates: $5 daily

Bloomer: $5 daily

Spencer: $5 daily for residents; $10 for non-residents

Bloomer: $25 annual

Spencer: $25 annual for residents; $50 for non-residents

$5 annual for Senior Citizen residents;

$10 annual for Senior Citizen non-residents

* Spencer Park was the first City-owned park and it was decided the City would have a

resident and non-resident fee system. Bloomer and Yates were acquired from the State

of Michigan.

* The philosophy behind the daily/annual fee system is that parks are also subsidized

by taxpayers through the General Fund, so regular users should pay for special

services, i.e. life guards, trash pick, etc. However, bicyclists or pedestrians can walk

into the City parks at no charge.

* Park entry fees were raised in 2000 to the current structure of $25 for residents and

$50 for non residents; prior to 2000, entry fees were $20 and $40 respectively.

* The Parks Department conducted a motor vehicle fee survey which shows that the

City is currently charging the highest park entry fees. Oakland County and some other

entities levy a millage on top of their park vehicle entry fees.

* There is a fine line of "diminishing returns" whereas if park entry fees are raised too

high, users will be discouraged and go somewhere else.

* The City's park entry fees, sports field rental fees and concessions sales currently

bring in about $600,000 per year.

* Revenues at Bloomer Park have increase by 100% in the last 2 years since the

Veledrome opened.

The Committee had a general discussion on various aspects of park entry fees and

ways to promote the parks to businesses. Mr. Hartner recommended that the park entry

fees remain at the same level, however, he will be bring a recommendation to increase

the sports field rental fees which will be discussed at the October Leisure Activities

Committee meeting. The Committee decided to wait until October's meeting to make a

recommendation to City Council.

Ms. Raschke suggested that the monthly calendar of City park events could be

announced by the local schools through their public address system to students with

school approval. The Committee's Youth Representatives, Ahluwalia, Kinker and

Kosuda volunteered to speak with school officials to see if the monthly calendar could

be a part of the school announcements. The Committee concurred and Mr. Hartner will

provide the youth representatives with the calendar on a monthly basis in an effort to

publicize the City parks and the Web Page.

Mr. Hartner also mentioned that the City used to have a full-time position that promoted

the City to the community, but the position was eliminated, however, current employees

do try to incorporate public relations in the regular duties.