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Recreation Commission Meeting April 7, 2003 This concluded the Report of the Recreation Commissioner. REPORT BY SAFETY DIRECTOR Mr. Jesse reported that the City has retained a consultant to put together a security plan for the Recreation Center. The concept is to assess what the security risks are and what the problems are, and it would be the Commissioner's responsibility to put together an RFP that has better plans and specifications as far as putting together the actual security hardware, software and training. There are many training issues, particularly as regards security awareness and response. The City also wants to make it a very "soft" security system. One of the main concerns ties into who enters the building but, more importantly, who leaves. The City is trying to tie this together with the computer information system so that if someone registers for a class or league prior to the class the security system would know that they have registered and that their I.D. cards are O.K. Also, there would be Internet registration access. The City is in the process of finalizing a consultant selection for the computer plan as well for the Rec Center's entire computer needs (programming, Internet access, etc.) Hopefully, the City will have an outline ready for the next Rec Commission Meeting. The requirement for the firms would be that they have the RFP rating for bid on June st 1, with the hope that we have implementation by the end of the year, and a large part of the computer system in place by August or September. The major question is: where is the funding coming from? Please consider this between now and the next Commission Meeting. Part of the money will be recouped from management black holes. As far as the concession stands, the lack of fees paid by people who should have paid, as well as in the Pro Shop and fees at the gate. The estimate right now is that there is somewhere in the neighborhood of $50,000 and $100,000 in gate losses. There may be a necessity to put a user fee in position prior to recognizing that cash flow. It would be a situation where everyone would pay a minimum fee to get through the turnstyle, perhaps fifty cents or a dollar, to get the security system in place. Ms. Jones objected to paying to get into the building just to observe. Mr. Jesse said that this is an idea, but the City must find a means to pay for losses because of ordinance requirements. When an expense comes up, the City wants to know where the money is coming from. An incident of a wallet stolen last week from a locker by using bolt cutters, and $4,000 charged by the thief within a few hours, was cited as a reason to implement security as soon as possible. Since these incidents make the papers, the City becomes an easy target, and if there is a security system implemented, the Rec Center is no longer a target of choice. Mr. Limpert suggested extra money being structured in as part of an annual membership fee of $5.00 or $10.00 to avoid a one-time fee if a person would be at the Recreation Complex many times during the course of a year. Mr. Gareau expanded on this notion by putting forth the argument that the money is necessary because it's directly related to a security feature. The point is that there need to be creative ways to come up with extra money to implement the security system short of slashing programs and cutting staff. Ms. Jones propounded an added fifty cents to a program fee. Mr. Gareau noted that the City is going to spend a lot of money to stop a person who has bolt cutters in his coat or bag with an intent to steal. It's easier to put your valuables in Page 5