Celina w(REC)cks Board
Well
the fox has finally b-b-q’d the last chicken in the hen house and now there is
no Celina Rec Board. At a recent Celina
City Council meeting the council members voted 7-0 to dissolve the 30-year old
board. Former Parks employee Dan Meyer
helped to establish the board and later on in the process Rec Director Jim
Hoess would make the final adjustments to the board and the concept. During those days the Rec Board was a valid
part of the city and thanks to them and Mr. Hoess the youth soccer program was
established. The Rec Board and the Rec
Director during those days would work hand in hand with the city and was geared
to make the program one that made the community proud. Was it perfect, no, but it was making
strides in all areas. So what happened
to lead us to this point in time? First
of all this was not the first time a city administration has tried to get rid
of the board, several years ago there were steps put in place to remove the
board, but a change of mayors prevented that process until this effort.
Why
was the board abolished?
According to some it
caused an extra layer of bureaucracy, plus the members rarely followed thru
with the duties given to the board.
Yeah
it caused an extra layer for the city administration and they have never liked
it for many years. Who does that
board think they are? How dare they try
and tell us how to do things? They want
new equipment to take care of the park?
They want to hire extra help to maintain the new pool and all of the
parks? Do you get the point! City administration (past and present)
has never liked to be told anything.
The city administration and city council has over the years made it a
“tough job” for Rec Board members.
However; when something went wrong at all in the parks system it was
easier to blame the board than to have the city take any responsibility, the
city will miss this part of the “new deal”.
The Rec Director would often be put in the middle of these conflicts,
when it came to making the final deals on any Rec Board activity, city
administration always won out, including the budget requests. I feel the main reason the board meetings
were not well attended by members in the past several years (most times even
the council rep wouldn’t show) was because they all knew it didn’t matter
what they did, it was not going to fly.
I’ve talked to board members in the past and they would share their
concerns with me about this. Many of
the Rec Board members have been good folks who wanted to see the success of the
parks system work. For those of you
with children going thru the parks system it might be worth your time to find a
past Rec Board member and ask there opinion on how things were treated during
there tenure on the board.
What
next?
Council will assume
budgetary responsibilities and will review and approve acquisition of new parks
and major capital improvements.
The
City Administration, City Council and the City’s Park and Recreation Department
can now start off fresh.
The first step could be a complete and in-depth evaluation of how the Recreation Department is operated from top to bottom. This can be from the working hours of the department, in the past the Rec Department has operated on an 8am to 5pm schedule, the right thing to do would be to operate on a different time schedule when events are taking place. This would allow Parks officials to be on site in case a situation that comes up during little league baseball, football or soccer games. Years ago there would be at least one staff member available, but none in recent years. Communication between parents and the Rec Department most likely would improve and keep things moving smoothly. There are other internal issues that should also be evaluated, public relations with the community, proper upkeep of facilities, a purchasing program to maintain costs, etc.
Funding
has always been an issue with the Rec Department, even with the Bryson Estate in
the picture. We should all be thankful
to the generosity of Mr. Bryson, his unselfish love for the kids, Celina and
the parks system. However; City
Administration and City Council needs to find a way to make the Bryson Estate
work for the children of Celina. This
money was put into place to help the children of Celina enjoy the parks system
and to help with the financial burden of running it. I think Mr. Bryson would be very disappointed to see how it has
evolved over the years and how it has been used and not used in some
cases. The Bryson Estate should be a
positive thing for Celina, not something that is inactive when needed. The City needs to be more aggressive in acquiring
these funds for the parks. The City Administration and Council need to establish
with the Estate what the guidelines are for using the funds and why they are
set-up this way. How much money is
actually in the fund? You want to
have some fun, ask some folks in city government that question, you might be
surprised with the answers you get. You as a citizen of Celina need to express
your opinion on this issue, especially if you have children in the system. Take this recent example, tennis courts at
Westview Park have been in need of major repair, probably still are. Instead of
the City fixing these courts, concerned friends and tennis parents of Celina
High raised funds to build suitable courts at the High School. By the way I bought a brick for the project
and to my understanding that is more than the Bryson Estate donated. What does your child pay now to participate
in a city activity? That is why this issue should be resolved by the city
working with the Estate. To make this
work there needs to be accountability from both the City and the Bryson Estate,
which includes regular updates to the public.
1-
How much money is presently in the Estate?
2-
How much funding actually goes to the Rec Department on a
yearly basis
3-
How is funding secured for park projects and what is it based
on and who can request it
4-
Who gives approval to funds being dispersed for projects
5-
Who actually controls the Estate
6-
What does the original Estate say about funding of the parks
Several
years ago when the Pepsi deal was put in place it was going to put $7,000
yearly into the Parks budget. A present
city council member pushed to have that money placed into the general fund and
take the funds away from a department that could have used the income to
operate. The total loss for the 12-year
period is $84,000. To be fair to the
Rec Department they have been forced in the past to work with equipment that
Henry Ford might have used, due to budget problems. This department needs the help of the administration and city
council to have proper equipment and tools.
A good start to this would be to issue the Pepsi money back to the Rec
Department.
The
Celina City parks have been a big part of this community and have been used in
the past and present by many different groups.
All of these events that I list helped to bring a positive to Celina and
also bring in numerous visitors – Fall Softball League, Celina Suns Softball,
year end Soccer tournaments, Grand Lake Mariners, NCCAA National Baseball
Championships, Little League Baseball and Softball Invitationals, RC Boat
Races, ACME Baseball Tournaments and many, many more. These events have played a positive roll in Celina.
As
for the new advisory board it is a token attempt to calm those of us who think
the Rec Board was still needed, if the city had problems with the previous Rec
Board, why would this effort be any different.
Sorry, but true!
What
is the key to changes in this entire project – YOU! Nothing will change unless you get involved
at all levels from coaching a little league team, volunteering at an event or
talking to your council member about this. Only time will tell on this issue, let’s hope the City has made
the right choice.
After
nearly one and a half years of meetings, Celina City Counselors unanimously
voted to dissolve the Parks & Recreation Board that was created by
Ordinance 10-77-O.
Although the official policy-making board has been dissolved, the Parks and Recreation Director is establishing an Advisory Board to assist him with general policy considerations, project suggestions, and to assist in fielding and resolving citizen complaints.