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89-448 W111TE - CITV CLERK COUrtCII /'� '/ G PINK �Y� FINANCE CITY O AINT PALTL / ♦...CANARY - DEPARTMENT ��J �7 /► E1UE - MAVOR File NO. � • �� .Co nc l Resolution �� Presented By � Referred To Committee: Date Out of Committee By Date � WHEREAS, it has been brought �o the attention of the City Council that recent increases in swimming fees t City of Saint Paul swimming facilities has resulted in some city residen s eing unable to use said facilities; and WHEREAS, it is the belief of th City Council that no city resident should be denied access to swimmi g acilities based on the ability to pay; and WHEREAS, during the past two se sons, the Seasonal Swimming and Oxford Swimming activities have performe b tter than projected financially. NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED t at the proper city officials are hereby directed to return swimming admis io and less�a fees to the 1987 level , effective June 1, 1989 through Se te ber 4, 1989. I COUNCIL MEMBERS Requested by Department of: Yeas Nays Dimond �� [n Fav t Goswitz �� A ainst Scheibel g Sonnen �— �R 1 6 Form Approved by City Attorney Adopted by Council: Date Certified.P• sed by Co cil S/e�retary BY � i ) gy, (,�C.:f� Appro by Mavor: te _ ,�` Z u $9 Approved by Mayor for Submission to Council By �UBIIS�ED AP t� ° 11 89 � O 7 `-7� PARTN NTK7FFl NpL DATE INITI D � � O � COMMUNITY SERVICES 3-8 89 GREEN SHEET NO. CONTACT PERSOM 6 PF�NE INI7IAU DATE ilqqTIAUDATE DEPARTMENT�RECfOR m CITY OaJNGI James Scheibel 298-5b79 �� CITYATTORNEY �CRYCI.ERK MUST BE�1 WUNqL AQENDA BY(DA1'� ROUTINO BUDOET DIRECTOR �FIN.8 I�T.SERVICES DIR. March 16, 1989 wu►rowcoanssisrnNn ❑ TOTAL#�OF SIGNATURE PAQlEB (CLIP AL L TIONS FOR SIGiNATUR� ACTION REGUESTED: RECOMMENDATIONS:Approve(A)a Reject(F� COUNCIL M ITTEE/R EARCH REPORT OPTIONAL ANALYST PhIONE NO. _PUWNINO COMMI8810N —GVIL 8ERVICE COMMISSION _CIB COMMITTEE _ _STAFF _ COMMENT —DISTRICT COURT _ 3UPPORT8 WHICH COUNpL OBJECi1VE? INITIATiN(i PROBLEM.188UE,OPPORTUNITY(1Nho,Whet,When,WMn,WhY): Fees at municipal swimming facilities h e reached a level where some residents of the city cannot afford to use them. (See a a hed letter from Robert Piram, Superintendent of Parks and Recreation to J. Scheibel ). ADVANTA(iES IF APPROVED: Those who have been unable to use the f ilities should be able to use them. DISADVANTA(�ES IF APPROVED: Budgeted revenue projections may not be ea hed. This could cause an operating shortfall . However, with cooperative weather, budg e revenue projections may still be reached. DISADVANTAOES�F NOT APPROVED: Some residents may not be able to use t cilities. TOTAL AMOUNT OF TRANSACTION COST/REVENUE BUDOETED(CIRCLE ONEj YES NO FUNDINd80URCE ACTIVITYNUMBER 23170 and 2�1�n FINANGAL INFORMATION:(EXPL.AII� Financial data is dependent on usage by h public. Weather will play a major role on financial impact. . . G� 89-y�� s��;`*;�°�, � CITY OF SAINT PAUL __ � a.«�� ' �i=,, DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNITY SERVICES �° �: � {i�ii°J �.: DIVISION OF PARKS AND RECREATION '�: �' '!„ r� 300 City Hall Annex, 25 West Foyrt� Street 0� �..• ""n+�:•��'r� St Paul, Minnesota 55102 GEORGE I.ATIh1tR 612-292-7400 MAYQR February 14, 1989 James Scheibel City Council President Room 716 City Hall Saint Paul , Minnesota 55102 Dear Jim: Thank you for your letter raising on ern over the fees we are charging at our swimming facilities. You may recall that, in 1986, duri g he 1987 budget process, Seasonal Swimming, Oxford Pool , and the Mun'ci al Stadium were shifted from the General Fund to Enterprise Funds. Th ,� were later put into Special Revenue Funds, because funds that are not ot lly self-supporting cannot be Enterprise Funds in accordance wit ' S ate of Minnesota auditing guidelines. At the time these shifts were made th Division of Parks and Recreation objected based on the following: 1. We believed that these progra s ere basic services and, therefore, were the responsibility of the Gen ra Fund. 2. We believed that these progra 's ould never be totally self-supporting which was the original reasonlfo taking them out of the General Fund. 3. When programs are removed fro ' t e General Fund they become responsible for costs that are normally p id by the General Fund. In the case of Seasonal Swimming, these addi io al costs have been for fringe benefits and, starting in 1989, Street an Sewer Assessments. When these costs are added to the programs the r osts become distorted when compared to other General Fund support �d ctivities such as recreation centers. 4. The unpredictability of swimm ng program usage due to weather was another major concern. Rain 'nd temperature extremes, either cool or hot, all impact on the numberlof people who use the facilities. Extremely hot weather as we e pe ienced in 1988 will impact heavily on pool usage. While cooler sum er will result in less participation. In January of 1987 the Division of Pa ks and Recreation staff inet with the City Council Finance Committee and ev ntually the whole Council , on this issue. At that time the Council a re d to subsidize the three programs eos . C.� 8q-�y� s , ' James Scheibel February 14, 1989 � � page 2 more fully than originally planne II. Secondly, the Council agreed to soften the original plan to phase them o jer a period of time, to a self supporting level . At those meetings we provided the Gouncil with a plan to incrementally raise fees during the next four years ( 98 -1990) that would shift a greater share of the cost to the user, falling r hort of total self-support. We have been using this fee schedule for t e ast three years (1987-1989) . In both 1987 and 1988 we collectedlmo e revenue than projected in the Seasonal Swimming program. This w s ue to the favorable weather conditions we experienced during those years. The following is a list of our Sea on 1 Swimming actual and proposed fees for 1986 to 1990 as approved by th C ty Council . In 1986 this program was still part of the General Fund. i 19861� 1987 1988 1989 1990 Children admissions .75i 1.00 1.25 1.25 1.50 Adult admissions 1.00 1.50 1.75 2.00 2.25 Lessons (10 sessions) 15.00 17.50 20.00 20.00 22.50 As you can see the only increase p an ed for 1989 is to increase adult admission from $1.75 to $2.00. In 1988 we offered reduced rate pa ka es whereby children could buy a ten- admission pass for $10 and adults ould purchase a ten-admission pass for $15. The net savings of either of th se passes was $2.50. It remains our recommendation that ea onal Swimming, Oxford Pool and the Municipal Stadium be returned to th G neral Fund. We are convinced that these programs are basic services t at a city of our size should be providing their residents. In this way fees ou d be made affordable, and the General Fund could safe guard the programs ga 'nst years where revenues don' t reach projections. The following compares our budget vlrs s our actual performance in 1987 and 1988, and provides 1989 estimates f r oth revenues and expenses. 1987 19 �7 1988 1988 1989 budget act al budget actual budget Expenses $229,807 $212 19 $250,644 $226,370 $243,447 Revenues 78,272 96 32 99,109 112,950 101,664 Gen. Fund contribution 151,535 115 86 151,535 113,420 141,803 As you can see, the Seasonal Swimmi g und has performed much better than anticipated during the past two yea s, however, as stated earlier, weather has been a major factor in this per or ance. , � ��-yy� James Scheibel February 14, 1989 ; ' page 3 The following chart indicates att nd �ce at our Seasonal Pools during the past three years versus projectio s nd our 1989 estimated attendance. 1986 1987 1987 1988 1988 1989 actual* projected ctual projected actual projected Attendance 74,704 79,200 2,001 79,500 86,356 80,750 * In General Fund included to sho Ih w weather is a factor. � Attendance in 1988 lagged behind �8 by approximately 6,000 people. Some of this may be attributed to the inc ea es in fees. However, we did have five more days for the program in 1987 th n in 1988 because of fluctuations between the end of the school yea a d Labor Day, our opening and closing dates. Secondly Highland Pool wa u available for three additional days in 1988 because two swimming meets w re held there instead of the normal one meet. In reviewing revenue figures for eas nal Swimming we find that we collected $16,623.79 or 17% more in 1988 th n i 1987. However, Cherokee Pool revenue was down by $1,837.93 or 31% from 198 . This seems to indicate that the comments in Judy Brown' s letter a a curate. In conjunction with this, it shoul ' b noted that revenue collections at Oxford Pool in 1988 were also down. 68,568.22 was collected in 1988 versus $75,359.94 in 1987. This is a red ct'on of $6,791.72 or 9%. It seems reasonable to conclude th t he increased fees have had a greater impact on those areas of the city he e income is lower. While attendance at Highland and Como Pools has not su fe ed as much as at Cherokee and Oxford, the users of those facilities have ex ressed their displeasure with our present fees structure. The following is the results of a ho e survey we asked our staff to put together which compares our fees t o her area agencies. SWIMMING RAT S METRO AREA 1989 AGENCY CHILD ADULT LESSONS -------------------- ------------------ - ------------------- ----------------------- CITY OF SAINT PAUL $20.00 (outdoor/indoor) $1.25 $2.00 10 sessions -------------------- ------------------ '- ------------------- ----------------------- SCHOOL DIST. 625 varies, roughly $1.50 (indoor) $1.00 $1.00 $1.75 per session -------------------- ------------------ - ------------------- ----------------------- ANOKA COUNTY (wave pool ) $3.00 $4.00 None -------------------- ------------------ - ------------------- ----------------------- NEW BRIGHTON $1.00 $15.00 (indoor) also $2.50/family $1.00 8 sessions -------------------- ------------------ - ------------------- ----------------------- , c� �-N� , , . AGENCY CHILD ADULT LESSONS -------------------- ----------------- -- -------------------- -------------------�=-- ST. PAUL SEMINARY $2.00 with adul (indoor) $4.00 alone $5.00 None -------------------- ----------------- -- -------------------- ----------------------- CITY OF BLOOMINGTON (outdoor) $1.50 $1.50 None -------------------- ----------------- -- -------------------- ----------------------- CITY OF ROSEVILLE $15.00 (indoor) $ .75 $1.00 8 sessions -------------------- ----------------- -- -------------------- ----------------------- CITY OF MAPLEWOOD $18.00 (indoor) $ .75 $1.25 8 sessions -------------------- ----------------- -- -------------------- ----------------------- HOPKINS & $13.00 resident MINNfTONKA $21.00 non-resident (indoor) $ .50 $ . 50 10 sessions -------------------- ----------------- -- -------------------- ----------------------- ST. LOUIS PARK $ .75 $1.75 (indoor) $20 s X a year $22-27 a year None -------------------- -------------------- ------------------- ----------------------- BROOKLYN CENTER $1.75 (6-14) (indoor) $2.00 (15-17) $18.00 Free (5-under) $2.50 10 sessions, 1/2 hr. -------------------- ------------------ - ------------------- ----------------------- RICHFIELD $2.00 Family $36 first $2.00 None two people, $6 each addl . ------------=------- ------------------ - ------------------- ----------------------- MINNEAPOLIS SCH. DIST. $1.25 $1.25 $.50 per session -------------------- ------------------ - ------------------- ----------------------- ANOKA/HENNEPIN SCH. DIST. $1.25 $1.75 $1.25 per session -------------------- ------------------ - ------------------- ----------------------- As you can see our fees are at the uppe e d of the scale in the metro area. My staff and I will be happy to meet wi � ou or your aide, to discuss this issue at your convenience. Sincerely, � � � � � : , , �,/ , -'` ._,( G?�f'"�, ,%� j-•%.-t,.f�i'�-..-�. Robert P. Piram Superintendent of Parks and Recreation cc: Kathleen Stack