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Recreation Commission Meeting March 3, 2003 The total amount for these repairs would be a ballpark figure of about $100,000. Preventative maintenance was never done. As for the 2003 budget, because there was no Commissioner and the Department had to submit its budget, one percent was just figured into the 2002 figure. Mr. DiSalvo expressed his desire to increase income, not expenses. Transfers can be made if the revenue will be brought in within a six month mark and then at the end of the year. An example was proposed that, to help fund the cost of the bleachers, there could be a $5 surcharge placed on a ticket to a swim meet, $1 going to the schools. There would be a contract taken out, with the surcharges paying for the contract. Ms. Hayes suggested speaking with the Athletic Director at the High School to see if this would be viable since the Ohio Athletic Association sets rates. Mr. Kelley observed that it is the rink that generates the money, not the pool; yet the biggest amount of money needed is for pool work. Why would rates for the rink be raised for the pool’s work? If rates are to be raised, they should be raised for the pool instead of across the board to include the ice rink. There was discussion among the members that the North Olmsted pool is just a pool, not elaborate like pools in surrounding communities. Mr. Baxter stated that the ice rink bears a lot of the expenses with the heating and ice, so there is a sense of balance between the pool and rink. It sounds, though, that the Recreation Center needs more than it’s asking for repairs. Anna Kanis commended Tom Stein for keeping the Rec Center together on a shoestring. Mr. Limpert said that, although this is commendable, perhaps a project should have been done each year and the list of repairs would not be so long today. Mr. Miller said that Todd Morgan went to Council about four years ago, stating that the Rec Center is on “life support.” The problem has been that the City has always been competitive with its rates, trying to survive, but it’s very difficult to do without more support from the General Fund. He agreed that a new sign is in order at Lorain Road in front of the Complex, wanting more than a small sign. The situation becomes very problematic for Council has other issues, such as the Fire Station needing a new roof, to deal with as well. It’s all challenging and means looking over the numbers and coming in with a good plan. Mr. Limpert interjected that the Rec Center needs to come up with a plan to aggressively grow revenue, be it through new programs, improving new programs such as Learn to Skate, and looking toward more than a 1% or 2% increase in revenue over a year. Mr. Limpert expressed confidence in the new Commissioner’s ability to make things happen. Mr. DiSalvo continued by saying that Tom Stein agreed with him that if you don’t have a place of recreation you’re not going to have any place. The Commissioner apologized if he was speaking out of turn, but said that purchasing a $50,000 sign made no sense when other matters take priority. If there are good programs, word travels. If the Rec Center does not have things that work and doesn’t entertain preventative maintenance, there will be no Rec here, period. Mr. Stein and Mr. DiSalvo are exactly on the same page, and the Commissioner supports Mr. Stein 100%. The Commissioner did not want to paint a bleak picture, but it’s more or less reality at this point. The next topic of discussion was facilities management software. The brand name looked at in the past was RecWare. Facilities Management Software offers a wider range of software products, and it’s set up more like a business rather than one area as in RecWare. This will be Page 6