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Minutes of a Meeting of The Parks and Recreation Commission May 2, 2005 Mr. Lasko said that this is no different than the negotiations that the Recreation Department has had with any other significant user of the parks and recreation facilities. The schools are looking to come to an agreement. The schools and the city are two governmental entities that should have the best interests of our community as our directive, but until and unless the School Board sees something on paper, nothing can be done. Mr. Jesse said that it might be possible to get the planners on board to get the cost of renovating the ice rink and pool without difficulty within a month or two, which would be able to be forwarded to the School Board. Mr. Jesse would feel more comfortable in having professionals who do this all the time come in and make that assessment. Ms. Wenger said that her only concern is that the determination must be made as to whether the pool and ice should be maintained, upgraded, replaced or whatever. There are always options. Mr. Jesse said that if you go to the School Board after a 20-year levy has passed, the Rec Center’s portion should be made available. Ms. Wenger said that the type of plan being proposed is well overdue; she wished she could get it all in place perfectly by June, but the plan is being made to prevent this type of situation from happening again. For the ice rink and the pool, it may be administratively handled, but in the future, should other facilities come up, the plan would already be in place. Mr. DiSalvo said that there are copies of a survey report indicating a minimal crossover as far as what the schools want in the next upcoming levy. There are two things that have been forgotten. Mr. DiSalvo’s main concern is that if something happens to either the pool or ice rink, the schools have nowhere to go. Ms. Wenger’s proposal must move forward. This is not a Rec Center problem; it’s a city issue now. The Commissioner believes this has nothing to do with the school levy. The city must get its facts presented and move forward. This is totally independent from the schools. Once the city gets the facts that the schools are on board is fine, but the most the Rec Center can do is charge the schools for the use of the facility. Relatively speaking, the schools’ use is minimal compared to the community use and outlying community. We must move forward with this and not involve the schools. This was the Recreation Commissioner’s personal opinion. Mr. DiSalvo noted that there was a flooding problem on Court #3. One of the vertical gutters was leaking through the expansion joint of the wall. He does not have a good feeling about the entire building; it’s not just pool and ice rink. Almost every expansion joint has insufficient concrete caulk because of age. This facility needs a professional entity to assess it, come up with the answers and report on the structure. Mr. Baxter said that, as a resident, the School Board will have a difficult time selling a levy to the citizens. To bring up the recreation element will make it harder. Mr. Baxter said he may be wrong, but if he were on the school board he would want to stay away from it and make his levy plan crystal clear without the recreation factor. One of the issues is that North Olmsted is not a 1975 community anymore, and the kids have grown. Another factor is that North Olmsted is a heavy non-resident usage facility. Mr. Baxter said that in Westlake one must be a resident to use Page 9