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HomeMy WebLinkAboutIR 8005 00%, I INFORMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS No. ("19 To the Mayor and Members of the City Council June 4, 1996 33 Subject: 1873 REPORT ON THE PARK SYSTEM At the Pre-Council session on April 23, 1996, Councilmember Jim Lane expressed concerns regarding the conditions of parks and the level of maintenance being performed on parks. As a result, it was requested that staff provide a report on the current condition of the park system. Overall, the park system is in good condition and service levels are being provided in accordance with budgeted levels. There are, however, some infrastructure issues which, as a result of aging systems and reduced operating funds, are in a state of decline. When systems reach a point of becoming hazardous or uneconomical to repair, in accordance with departmental policy, they are removed from service. Examples include removal of six (6) pieces of play equipment since 1993, and ballfield lighting systems where two (2) were removed at Rosemont Park in February 1995. This report will address the park infrastructure, maintenance service levels, operating resource levels and efforts which have been undertaken to seek alternative and/or additional funding during the last four (4) years. 1. Infrastructure Primary facilities include playgrounds, lighting systems, parking lots and park roads and general park amenities such as drinking fountains, fencing, bleachers, etc. A) Playgrounds - The system contains 129 playgrounds located throughout the City. A playground generally contains one major structure and a number of auxiliary pieces such as swings and merrywhirls. In addition, most% playgrounds are located within a sand or pea gravel area intended to absorb falls and facilitate drainage. In June 1995, the department published an Issue Paper which concluded that 68 major play pieces and 84 surface areas require, or will require, replacement. The total estimated cost for this work amounted to $3,305,940. _­­­........­" ................. B) Athletic field lighting -The system contains y letic fields of which 13 are in a serious state of - Z e dlto li p les, fixtures, wiring or control panel conditions. A oFJ.CfQ...,',,=d are .................... ISSUED BY THE CITY MANAGER FORT WORTH,TEXAS ...............­­­................-.111-1111 .................._'__............. INFORMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS No. sons To the Mayor and Members of the City Council Subject: June 4, 1996 1873 Page 2 of 6 REPORT ON TBE PARK SYSTEM rated as critical with removal or disconnection of service projected in the next 6 - 18 months. These include fields at Sycamore, Rockwood, Hallmark and Lincoln parks. The total estimated cost for replacement of these systems is $1,641,790. Q Parking Lots and Roads - In the formulation of the 1993 Bond Program, the Department identified $6,115,000 in needs to address deteriorated parking and park roads and paving of unpaved lots. Priorities were established in A, B and C categories. Due to the amount allocated to the Park Department in the Bond Program, only the A category improvements involving eight (8) sites were funded totaling $1 million. In the B Category, nine (9) sites were recommended for replacement at an estimated cost of $2,515,000 and in the C Category, fifteen (15) sites were recommended at an estimated cost of$2,600,000. D) General Amenities The system contains 86 drinking fountains of which 73 are operational. The remainder of the fountains (13) have been rendered inoperable due to age, vandalism or major plumbing required for repair. The present inventory of fountains has been reduced to this level through removal of approximately 30 units over the past three (3)years. These removals were fountains which did not meet existing plumbing codes or were uneconomical to repair. Other park fixtures such as fences, ballfield backstops, goals and furniture (tables, benches and bleachers) range in condition and are repaired as needed utilizing available operating funds: each year. 11. Maintenance Sfryice L&vels Services include grounds maintenance (mowing and litter collection), athletic fields maintenance (field lining and dragging), horticultural maintenance (bed weeding and shrub pruning) and trades (electrical, plumbing, welding, carpentry, painting and playground maintenance). A), Mowing is done by both in-house personnel and by contract. Parks are mowed,dn afourteen(14) day cycle and medians on a twenty-one (21)day cycle, during,,the growing season. Exceptions include Central Business District sites, mowed every seven (7) days, league play athletic fields 1QC11Cr% OV'rUC r4-rV &A A KI^f'-CM 'rMV AGE INFORMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS No. T To the Mayor and Members of the City Council X Subject: June 4, 1996 ion Page 3 of 6 REPORT ON THE PARK SYSTEM mowed every seven(7) days during the playing season and naturalized sites mowed four to six (4 - 6) times per year. The above mowing frequencies were initiated in FY 1992-93 and public response has generally been acceptable. The only times when complaints are received are when the time between mowing is extended because of wet conditions, contractor non performance, or equipment failure. B) Litter collection occurs in parks twice weekly and is removed from medians as necessary. Downtown sites and the Will Rogers Memorial Center receive litter removal up to five (5) times per week. Public reaction to these collection cycles has been acceptable, with some complaints received about litter in the downtown area. Q As part of a reorganization in 1994 the Department established optimum service level guidelines for athletic fields which resulted in the categorizing of fields into five (5) categories; Level 1 receiving intense and frequent maintenance, Level 2 frequent, Level 3 twice monthly, Level 4 monthly and,Level 5 in accordance with the adjacent park. Due to resource levels, all fields are actually maintained one level below the desired level. Fields which contain irrigation systems are watered to prevent cracking of the soil only. The Gateway and Rolling Hills complexes are watered more frequently, however, they are only watered half as much as they were prior to budget reductions implemented in the FY 92-93 budget. Public reaction to these service levels has been mixed. It is believed that, the overuse of a limited number of fields combined with a lower service level has contributed to the user concerns. D) Horticulture maintenance is done by in-house personnel and includes shrub trimming and bed weeding on an as needed basis at the Botanic Garden and every six (6) weeks in other areas. In general, beds are located adjacent to community centers, libraries, swimming pools, buildings at the Will Rogers Memorial Center and downtown parks. Public reaction to the service levels has been good at most locations. Exceptions include the Will Rogers Memorial Center and downtownarica- where me complaints have been received. OFFICIAL RECORD CITY SECRFIARY FL WORT110 T'EL ISSUED BY THE CITY MANAGER FORT WORTH,TEXAS rc INFORMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS No. 8005 T To the Mayor and Members of the city Council X Subject: June 4, 1996 1873 Page 4 of 6 REPORT ON THE PARK SYSTEM E) Trades services are primarily provided by in-house personnel with electrical services augmented by private contract and the Transportation and Public Works Department as needed. Since FY 1991-92 operating dollars for supplies has increased from $64,000 to $91,000 which represents a,42% increase. This demand in resources is reflective of an aging infrastructure requiring more resources to maintain. 1) Electrical services are conducted on ballfield lights, swimming pools, park security lights, group shelters and in support of various special events. Due to aging systems, increased demands and previously incurred resource reductions, service levels, are inadequate. Services are conducted on a priority basis, with Priority I requests (safety related) having first priority. During FY 1994-95 the Department met its goal of 48 hour response time at a rate of only six percent (6%) for Priority I requests. Public response has been.less than acceptable to electrical services. 2) Plumbing services are conducted on swimming pools, irrigation systems, drinking fountains and display fountains. Irrigation systems and display fountains are maintained at an adequate level. However, due to aging systems and vandalism, park drinking fountains have been reduced from 126 to 86 during the last three (3) years. In general, public reaction to these service losses has been acceptable. Changing ordinances dealing with protection of drinking water system and waste water disposal will continue to make these amenities more costly to provide. 3) Playground maintenance services include a monthly inspection of each of the 129 playgrounds in the system. Public reaction to maintenance service levels of playgrounds has been generally acceptable. The only exception is when playground structures are removed for safety reasons. 111. Operating Resources Attached is a summary of General Fund Operating Budget resource reductions which have been implemented since FY 1992-1993. The total reductions for park maintenance during this period amounts to $1,381,240 and 41 authorized positions. ISSUED BY THE CITY MANAGER FORT WORTH,TEXAS INFORMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS No. 8W5 C'00-TEp� To the Mayor and Members of the City Council June 4, 1996 Subject: 1873 Page 5 of 6 REPORT ON THE PARK SYSTEM IV. Alternative Funding Efforts During the past four (4) years the Department has sought and solicited a variety of funding opportunities to address both infrastructure and maintenance service level needs. During the annual budget process, Decision Packages have been proposed to address playgrounds and playground maintenance, electrical and plumbing systems and maintenance, athletic field maintenance, and supplies, i.e., fertilizer, plants and water. Due to other priorities and limited resources, none of the proposals have been funded. In addition, funding requests for infrastructure replacements for playgrounds, swimming pools, ballfield lights and parking lots have been submitted during the Community Development Block Grant budget process and as part of a comprehensive listing of projects to be considered for funding from the Capital Projects Reserve Fund. For the Year XXII Community Development Block Grant Fund budget funding has been appropriated to replace five (5) playgrounds, one (1) ballfield lighting system (Rosemont Park) and repairs to the floor at Sycamore-Swimming Pool. In addition, funds for additional (not replacement) security lights have been appropriated; however, no operating funds to maintain these new lights have been allocated. V. Summary Overall, current maintenance resource allocations are appropriate to meet established service levels for parklands and facilities maintenance. Exceptions included electrical and plumbing services where aging systems require a higher.. and more frequent level of service; athletic fields services where overuse places a greater burden on existing facilities; and grounds maintenance services where public concern in some areas exists and inflation factors place a greater demand on existing funds for contractual services. The aging infrastructure has and will continue to result in deterioration of our playgrounds, lighting systems (particularly at athletic fields) and parking lots and park roads. fi"RD" ' CIV SEC llf:"I'ARYI FT. Nllakfilf ISSUED BY THE CITY MANAGER FORT WORTH,TEXAS INFORMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS No. 8W5 To the Mayor and Members of the City Council r�X Subject: June 4, 1996 fan Page 6 of 6 REPORT ON THE PARK SYSTEM V1. Conclusion To address areas of concern, the Department will continue its policy of accepting additions to the system only when appropriate level operation and maintenance funds are allocated and remove systems when they are deemed hazardous or uneconomical to repair. Finally, resources to address deficiencies in service levels and deteriorated infrastructure systems will continue to be pursued from all potential funding sources. ob Terrell -'City Manager Attachment 100 1 ICM OV11rum f%1"rV Am^KI A 1410T WnPT14 TPY A Q SUMMARY OF GENERAL FUND OPERATING BUDGET-RESOURCE REDUCTIONS SINCE 1992-93 DESCRIPTION A.P. AMOUNT ADJUSTMENT 1. MAINTENANCE Grounds Maintenance-Districts (9) ($ 177,450) Contracted out Grounds Maintenance-Lake Worth (5) ($ 112,230) Contracted out Reduce Mowing Cycle --- ($ 71,319) 7&14 to 14&21 day cycle Reduction of Seasonal Maint.Activities (3) ($ 158,089) Reduction in service Elimination of irrigation --- ($ 162,370) Reduction in service Decrease in Agricultural/Botanical Supplies --- ($ 16,812) Reduction in service Delete Botanic Garden Annual (3) ($ 101,151) Reduction in service Color&Turf Care partial funding thru garden support groups Deletion of color plantings citywide ($ 19,315) Reduction in service Change to Seasonal Extra Help (6) $ 62,524) Change in service Increase in funds for Water/Wastewater --- $ 10,000 Adopt A Park Program 2. TRADES Elimination of skilled trades positions (9) ($ 350,000) Reduction in service and supplies Addition of funds to convert --- $ 20,453 Change in service bond construction crew to general fund Elimination of Equipment Operator 11 (1) 40,804) Reduction in service & Truck 3. FORESTRY Elimination of Street Tree (4) ($ 103,549) Reduction in service Maintenance Crew Elimination of Park Supervisor in Landscape Production (1) ($ 36,080) Reduction in service TOTAL (41) ($1,381,240) OHICIAI CITY SECRE"ARY T11, TEX. Ors,, t ...............