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Minutes of a Meeting of the North Olmsted Parks and Recreation Commission September 8, 2008 REPORT OF THE COMMUNITY LIFE SERVICES DIRECTOR Hot Stove Letter Mr. Dailey reported that he had just a few items to report; the first of which was about a letter received from Hot Stove back in late May or the first week of June regarding the issue of Field #5 about a path that would make it a little more ADA accessible for someone who would want to come and watch the games. He has a 95 page document, two sided, which are all the ADA issues the City must address. Obviously, there are a lot of issues to address citywide as well as at the Park. The Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) is looking for some funds to address issues at the Senior Center, the Park, and the Cabin. We have made some slight additions to the parking area down there just recently (one of Duane Limpert’s ideas). It really worked out well. The ground-out material that was chipped up from the side streets that are being redone was spread out across the north end of the parking lot. What was all rutted out is almost like a gravel driveway at this point in time. Duane is trying to get a roller down there to roll it a bit to make it a little bit tighter. It’s been a nice improvement. Unfortunately, gravel is probably worse on a wheelchair that what was there before, but overall this is a marked improvement to where we were. Mr. DiSalvo said that the Rec Department went down earlier and noted that the tire tracks were nicely compacted with the material, so if a roller is there, it will make a big difference. Budget Crunch If you read the local papers, you probably have read that North Olmsted is in for a budget crunch for 2009: from $1.2MM to $1.5MM less than what we had for 2008. Obviously, the only way this can be addressed is through people. We’re in the people business. We can’t raise prices anywhere across the city. Everything we do is wages and labor, so we’ll be making changes where we can. The departure of Cindi Bartko really came at a very good time, as it prevented my having to eliminate a person. As much as I hate to give someone more responsibility and less pay, Mr. Dailey said that at this point in time he is happy having people working and jobs here in North Olmsted. The other step would have been to let someone go in the admin side; her departure came at a very good time for the City and for those that are left. Mr. Groden asked if there is any concern that the programs she is overseeing might fall off or we might lose some revenue. Mr. Dailey replied that from what Ted has uncovered by going in the office, we actually believe there will be an increase in revenue from where we were. Cindi was a good person, but administratively she was a little weak, though she knew the pool, no doubt about it. With Chris working administratively and Carol with pool background working together…Mr. DiSalvo said that Betsy’s been helping with the pool administration as well. Ms. Drenski said that as of last week, she was redoing all the contracts for the pool groups, putting all the schedules and rentals in contracts. Mr. DiSalvo said that the Rec Department is catching up with invoices as well. There is one more person who owes a significant amount and, from here on out, once paid up, there will be no more money at the end of the agreement; the Commissioner will expect the money up front first. It’s been like that in every department. He is sick and tired of the use of the facility and then no payment received. That must change. The way things are now, the Rec Department cannot wait. He is not concerned about the schools; only the private groups. Mr. Dailey Page 4