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HomeMy WebLinkAboutIR 8788INFORMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS pRTEP., oll P To the Mayor and Members of the City Council is x2 SUBJECT: AQUATIC RECREATION MASTER PLAN Intrndiintinn No. 8788 July 25, 2006 Page 1 of 4 The purpose of this report is to inform City Council of the current state of Aquatic Recreation being provided by the Parks and Community Services Department (PACSD) and to formulate a strategy for dramatically improving the delivery of that service. Currently the PACSD operates seven public pools, all located within the Central City. Six of the pools are open from Memorial Day through the start of school. Forest Park pool remains open on the weekends beginning from the start of the school year through Labor Day. In FY 2004 -2005 the PACSD budgeted $488,988 for pool operations. In addition, this year the Trades Infrastructure Section incurred cost of $44,506 in labor and materials to provide ongoing maintenance and needed renovations to meet state mandated requirements in order to prepare the pools for the current season. Not included in the operating cost are in -kind services provide by the Water Department for emergency repairs. Prior to this year's opening, Water Department ®personnel assisted PACSD with complete overhaul of the pumping system at Forest Park pool. Without their assistance, Forest Park Pool would not have opened as scheduled. The PACSD also received help from the Water Department again this year at Sylvania Pool for rehabilitation of an antiquated actuator valve. The valve failed shortly before the opening of the pool season and caused a delay in the opening of Sylvania Pool. Last year the pools served 78,657 paid attendees generating $108,172 in revenue. Based on the annual operating budget and typical repair expenses less revenue generated, the average cost to the General Fund in FY 2004 -05 was $5.41 per participant. The high cost is due to decreased revenues as a result of a declining user base as well as increasing operational cost to maintain a deteriorating infrastructure. The following provides a brief history of pools operated by the PACSD. Overview No new aquatic facilities have been added to the inventory since the 1960s. The newest pools are now 50 years old and Forest Park Pool, the city's first public pool, is nearing the century mark. The first major capital investment in the pool system occurred in the 1966 when Forest Park Pool was reconstructed to add a diving area and a lap pool to the original 250 foot circular pool. The second major capital investment occurred in the 1980s when $980,000 in capital improvement funds were allocated for major renovations at Forest, Marine, Sycamore and Sylvania Pools. The bulk of the funding was used to install piping and filtration systems. Prior to adding these filtration systems, the pools were maintained by weekly draining and replenishing With fresh water. In 1994, $626,000 from a number of funding sources including the General ISSUED BY THE CITY MANAGER FORT WORTH, TEXAS INFORMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS No. 8788 July 25, Zoos f�a� To the Mayor and Members of the City Council g�''i Page 2 of 4 ka ,( l r07% SUBJECT: AQUATIC RECREATION MASTER PLAN Fund, grants, foundation support and private donations was spent to renovate the Hillside and Como Pools to allow them to be reopened after several years of inactivity. Besides these major renovations, minor alterations to meet State health and safety standards occurred at all the pools, most notably mechanisms to reroute the discharge from the storm drain system to the sanitary sewer system. Other improvements included adding pool liners at Forest, Sylvania, and Kellis to reduce water loss through the existing pool shell. Operationally, the PACSD employs approximately 105 seasonal employees to operate and manage the pools through the short season. These are mostly college and high school students seeking summer employment. As a result, it has been difficult for the Department to retain long term experienced and knowledgeable help. The seasonal employees serve as managers, lifeguards and routine maintenance personnel. In addition to these services, staff also provides learn to swim programs at Forest Park Pool. Participation is limited due to the short operational season and convenience for customers. Besides programming, other operational functions include maintenance and operation of the pumping, filtering and chemical feed systems. Due to liability issues, all pools except for Forest are drained at the end of the swim season. A few years ago, a liner was installed over the deteriorating pool surface at Forest to address a number of leaks. Water remains in Forest throughout the year to prevent separation of the liner from the pool surface. Due to extended periods when pools are not operational, minor maintenance problems frequently occur. The pumps are routinely started and tested throughout the off - season, but because the system is dry, they can not be run for extended periods of time. Most of the required routine maintenance can only be performed when the pumps are in operation and as a result a number of maintenance issues arise just prior to the pools opening. Besides inactivity of the pumping and filtering systems, the absence of water also has a negative effect on the pool subsurface structure. Hydrological forces and ground shifting has caused numerous cracks and separations in the existing pool structures. The Department has also failed to see significant gains in attendance due to increased competition from other service providers. Records provided by the Public Health Department show a 30% increase in the number of public and semi - private pools they inspect since 2000. These other service providers include the YMCA, Boys and Girls Clubs and numerous area theme parks like Hurricane Harbor and NRH2O. Newer single family residential developments are including community pools and water parks as part of their privately funded amenities for their individual homeowners associations. Multi- family developments are also including pools as a component of their amenity package. All of these factors result in a declining user base for outdoor public pools. fr* ISSUED BY THE CITY MANAGER FORT WORTH, TEXAS INFORMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS No. 8788 C;,,paTtpL, July 25, 2006 ° + jk To the Mayor and Members of the City Council �o Page 3 of 4 r�YA� SUBJECT: AQUATIC RECREATION MASTER PLAN Emerging Trends Natatoriums (indoor pools) and spray parks are emerging trends in aquatic recreation. Natatoriums range in cost from $9 to $15 million as compared to $3.5 million for the standard outdoor pool. Because natatoriums can be operated year round, they offer greater opportunities for extended programming including fee based programs like water aerobics, water polo, competitive swimming, scuba instruction and therapeutic and rehabilitative classes. The extended season also allows scheduling of swim lessons throughout the year at greater convenience to our customer base. Permanent staff is generally assigned to these facilities providing a more consistent level of customer service and maintenance compared to seasonal staff. Newer facilities include additional recreation and fitness facilities like weight and workout rooms. Spray Parks are constructed to mimic neighborhood playgrounds but include the additional lement of water to enhance the experience. Most are zero depth facilities with limited risk of drowning. These facilities do not require lifeguards. Parents or guardians provide any necessary adult supervision. Re- circulating units range in cost from $450,000 to $600,000 based on size and the number of elements included. Average operating costs for Spray Parks range from $10,000 to $15,000 per year. Next Steps Staff is recommending that a consultant be engaged to evaluate and develop an Aquatic Recreation Master Plan. The selected consultant should have extensive background in the planning and development of regional water park facilities as well as current applications of spray parks. The study will involve extensive market research in order to develop a business model that will result in reasonable operating expenses while still meeting the aquatic recreational needs of the citizens of Fort Worth. On June 15, 2006, the Parks and Community Services Department Advisory Board endorsed the staff's recommendation to move forward with selecting a consultant to develop an Aquatic Recreation Master Plan for Fort Worth and to fund the cost of that plan from gas royalties received by PACSD. Staff is currently drafting a Request for Proposals and will be coming forward in October with an M &C to award a contract for this study. It is an anticipated 12 -month process with significant public input and detailed market analysis. There will be an item on your ISSUED BY THE CITY MANAGER FORT WORTH, TEXAS INFORMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS No. 8788 &,t. NAT &pf. July 25, 2006 }°' D To the Mayor and Members of the City Council Page 4 of 4 vq �,rns re7 SUBJECT: AQUATIC RECREATION MASTER PLAN Pre - Council agenda next week, August 3, 2006, to discuss this issue and options for the 2006- 2007 budget year. If your have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact me or Randle Harwood, Acting Director of the Parks and Community Services Department at 817 - 871 -5704. Charles R. Boswell City Manager ISSUED BY THE CITY MANAGER FORT WORTH. TEXAS C