City Council Moves Toward Outsourcing Recreation Department

The City Council is moving toward shutting down the recreation services department and turning over recreational programming to an outside agency.  Like much of the city’s financial future, however, many details of the cost-cutting measure are uncertain.

A 4-1 decision at Tuesday night’s City Council meeting put the city on a path to eliminate the department while trying to find a way to continue services it currently provides, as well as pursue an agreement with the YMCA to provide recreation programs to the community. The move would include laying off staff.

Councilman George Gastil opposed the decision, favoring an option that would focus on an entrepreneurial effort to expand the department with revenue generating programs such as Zumba and yoga, and launch an aggressive marketing campaign.

“If we have excellent programs for kids, parents will want to enroll their children,” Gastil said. “I like the idea of being entrepreneurial and finding ways to meet a need and marketing aggressively.”

City Manager Graham Mitchell presented a report that analyzed four cost-saving options for consideration, with estimated savings ranging from $56,000 to $103,000. 

The first two options were based on proposals from the Boys & Girls Club of East County and the East County Family YMCA to contract out recreation services. The Boys & Girls Club proposal provides for youth services and would save the city an estimated $86,000; and the YMCA proposal provides youth and adult services and would save an estimated $56,000.

Councilman Howard Cook favored contracting with the Boys & Girls Club, saying the organization has perfected its programs, which are funded with the help of millions of dollars in donations.

A third option proposed a new recreation services department with expanded programs and an emphasis on marketing, and an estimated net savings of $80,000. A fourth option was to eliminate the recreation service department, with an estimated net savings of $103,000.

Opposed to the third option, Mayor Mary Sessom said the city just doesn’t have time to figure out how to be entrepreneurial. She spoke about a “new reality” the city is facing in the current financial climate—and whether the city would provide programs or services.

“We don’t have to do programs,” she said. “If we didn’t do one single youth program in this community again, people would be upset but life will go on.”

The department currently provides adult sports and youth activities. According to Mitchell’s report, the adult softball and volleyball programs recover all direct and overhead costs. Youth programs include sports, day camps and an after school drop-in program.

The report notes that regardless of the option analyzed, the nonrecreation costs currently assigned to the department—such as liability insurance, utilities and building maintenance—amount to about $300,000.

A resolution will come back to the City Council for a vote on May 3.