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CC - Item 5A - Proposed Partnership with Boys & Girls Club at Duff School• • ROSEMEAD CITY COUNCIL STAFF REPORT TO: THE HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL FROM: OLIVER CHI, CITY MANAGER DATE: AUGUST 26, 2008 SUBJECT: PROPOSED PARTNERSHIP WITH BOYS & GIRLS CLUB AT DUFF SCHOOL SUMMARY At its regular meeting on April 22, City Council authorized a Master Plan for Garvey Park. That process is well underway and City Council will see a draft of the design in October. The Garvey School District and the Boys and Girls Club of West San Gabriel Valley have both been involved in the process. With the closure of Duff School, the School District is seeking how best to use the site, which is located directly adjacent to Garvey Park. The Boys and Girls Club offered lunch time activities at Duff School last year and wants to expand its service to Rosemead residents. The Master Plan process has provided the impetus for evaluating not only our recreation facilities but the programs provided to the community by the Parks and Recreation Department. There are several agencies that currently offer similar services to local youth. Through state funds, the Rosemead School District (RSD) and Garvey School District (GSD) contract after- school services at all of their sites. RSD is served by the After School Education and Safety (ASES) Program and GSD by the Woodcraft Rangers. The programs consist of four mandatory components including homework help, enrichment activities, physical exercise, and a nutritious snack. Further, as noted above, the Boys and Girls Club, which offers leadership, volunteerism and social skills training, homework assistance, and a variety of recreation activities, is seeking to expand its programs. Staff Recommendation Staff recommends that the City Council take the following action: ■ Authorize the creation of an informal "Recreation Roundtable" comprised of local agencies offering recreation and similar activities to Rosemead residents; Direct staff to establish a Service Agreement with the Boys and Girls Club of West San Gabriel Valley; and ■ Direct staff to pursue a long-term lease agreement with the Garvey School District for use of the Duff School site and subsequent Joint Use Agreement with the Boys and Girls Club. APPROVED FOR CITY COUNCIL AGENDA: 0 0 City Council Meeting August 26, 2008 Page 2 of 3 ANALYSIS Recreation Roundtable Given this proposed structure for the delivery of recreational services to the community, it is proposed that first, the City would take the lead in establishing a forum in which all local recreation providers meet regularly to share ideas, formulate service goals, and facilitate training and program opportunities. Through the resulting partnership, each agency will serve a complementary role in bringing recreation, after-school education, and social skills programs to Rosemead residents. The forum should facilitate cooperation and eliminate duplicate services. For example, while the Parks and Recreation Department will continue to offer high quality recreation classes and special events, we will shift existing resources from traditional on-site recreation at school sites to expand afterschool and weekend sports to include teams representing the other agencies (where they can provide them) or by offering them at those sites that do not have school-aged team sports. Additionally, we will develop a preschool sports program that will bring structured physical activity to the City's existing preschool program and will offer "Tiny Tot" team sports city-wide, where they are not offered by local youth sports groups. There will also be an expansion of adult sports activities. Establishment of a Service Agreement with the Boys & Girls Club As part of this recommendation, the Parks & Recreation Department is seeking to enter into a service agreement with the Boys and Girls Club. The Boys and Girls Club would bring its services to Rosemead to supplement the efforts of ASES and Woodcraft Rangers as they tend to reach their maximum participant capacities at most sites and as the entities offer different programming options for various segments of our youth. The Club offers Power Hour and Study Island to aid in school performance, SMART Girls which teaches a variety of life and decision- making skills, and the Torch Club for teens who desire to serve in the community. Youth can participate in all Club programs for an annual membership fee of only $25. The Club can provide transportation from any school in Rosemead for a nominal monthly fee. They also have the ability to provide very low cost summer Day Camp and teen programs, neither of which currently exists. Given this arrangement, the Boys and Girls Club would operate at the Duff School site and if approved, staff will work with the Club to draft a Service Agreement for City Council consideration. Long Term Lease Agreement with Garvey School District at Duff School As the City Council knows, staff has been discussing with the Garvey School District our interest in initiating a long-term (30 to 50 years) Lease Agreement for use of the Duff School site. The additional space would enhance the City's ability to create state of the art amenities where they cannot be accommodated on Garvey Park and to provide recreation programs to meet the changing needs of the community for future decades. It is important to note that such a long term lease would be required in the event that grant funding becomes available for project development. 9 0 City Council Meeting August 26, 2008 Page 3 of 3 Next Steps If approved by the City Council, staff and the Boys and Girls Club have as a goal the establishment of after school programming at the Duff School site for the forthcoming school year. Such an arrangement will require the immediate use of kindergarten classrooms and the multi-purpose room at Duff School until a long term Lease Agreement has been approved. In discussing this matter with the Garvey School District, there may be costs associated with renting additional facilities at Duff School, however, these charges would be shared between the City and the Boys and Girls Club and are nominal costs that can be absorbed with the City's existing programming resources. The long term Lease Agreement would cover use of all referenced areas as well as outdoor facilities and joint use of the administrative building at the Duff site. If approved, the City would pursue a long-term Joint Use Agreement with the Boys and Girls Club for continued programming at Duff School. This will increase the Club's potential to find funding to assist with the development of the Garvey Recreation Center. The long term Lease Agreement with Garvey School District will incur additional expenses, however, an actual amount will not be known until the agreement has been further reviewed. Of course, the City Council would have final authority on approving such an agreement. PUBLIC NOTICE PROCESS This item has been noticed through the regular agenda notification process.